Bakalar na bijelo
An Istrian festive spread of cooked stockfish beaten with olive oil and garlic until pale and cohesive, here bulked out with hand-mashed floury potato.
Ogulinsko kiselo zelje (Ogulin sauerkraut)
Ogulinski kiseli kupus · Ogulinski kiseli kupus · Ogulinsko kiselo zelje · Ogulin sauerkraut
Protected Croatian sauerkraut from the Ogulin area: fresh white cabbage naturally lactic-fermented without preservatives, sold whole or shredded, from registered establishments.
What it is
Ogulinsko kiselo zelje is a protected sauerkraut from the Ogulin area of Karlovac County in Croatia. It is made from fresh white cabbage that is naturally fermented by lactic acid, without preservatives, and sold whole or shredded.
The protected product is limited to the indigenous Ogulinski cabbage variety, six named hybrids and their mixtures, and to registered establishments in the defined production area.
Place and protection
The protected area covers Ogulin and the municipalities of Josipdol, Plaški, Tounj and Saborsko. Protection was granted in 2015, and a 2023 amendment named the varieties and establishments. The legal designation identifies a product subset and does not make the name a synonym for all Croatian sauerkraut.
Dates and history
The European dossier dates the growing of cabbage near Ogulin to the 15th century. That date concerns the crop, not the fermented product. The name appears on vacuum-packed whole sour heads from 1973. No earlier dated record of the fermented product was found.
Process and home use
The 2015 advisory page describes shredded and whole-head commercial processes with staged conditions. Those figures are commercial and do not form a home recipe. No household quantities, endpoint or storage limit is established.
Anyone making sauerkraut at home needs a tested method and a spoilage check before relying on it.
History
The EU protection covers the Ogulin area cabbage product. The 2023 amendment names the indigenous Ogulinski variety and six hybrids. The European dossier's 15th-century statement dates cabbage growing near Ogulin, not cabbage fermentation. The name appears on vacuum-packed whole sour heads from 1973. The Croatian advisory page dates the protected designation to 2015.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)Whole heads or shredded, from the indigenous Ogulinski variety, named hybrids or their mixtures.
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Within the specification's range; no single figure is fixed for home use.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Uncontrolled fermentation and spoilage
The commercial specification and advisory page are not a validated home method and give no household safety limit.
Hazard sourceKeep the cabbage fully covered by brine or its own juice during fermentation.
Control sourceProtected-product rules do not give household safety limits.
Smell, taste or appearance do not establish safety.
- Select fresh white cabbage grown in the defined Ogulin production zone.
- Trim, core and, for shredded product, cut the heads.
- Salt the cabbage and pack it into the fermentation vessel.
- Allow natural lactic-acid fermentation without preservatives.
- Sell whole or shredded from a registered establishment.
Conditions
Temperature controlAmbient, monitored
Places
Ogulin, Josipdol, Plaški, Tounj and Saborsko, Karlovac County
Documented preparation · Region evidenceThe specification enumerates the municipalities of the protected area.
Related
More from Croatia
Baranjski kulen
Baranjski kulen is a Croatian protected fermented pork sausage seasoned with sweet and hot paprika, garlic and white pepper, stuffed into a pig’s caecum called katica, cold-smoked and matured.
Pinđur (pindjur)
A Balkan relish of roasted red peppers and tomatoes, often with aubergine and garlic, cooked down into a spread for the winter store.
Soparnik
A Croatian chard-filled flatbread baked in a home oven and finished with garlic oil.
Related in the family
Baechu kimchi
Napa cabbage salted, seasoned with a paste of gochugaru, garlic, ginger and salted seafood, and left to sour through lactic fermentation; Korea's everyday winter preserve.
Baek-kimchi (white napa-cabbage kimchi)
Napa cabbage is brined and filled with pear, radish, alliums, chives and fruit; this Korean kimchi omits red pepper flakes.
Chonggak-kimchi (ponytail radish kimchi)
Small ponytail radishes keep their greens attached and ferment in a flour-and-chile seasoning paste.
Choucroute d’Alsace
Finely cut cabbage fermented with salt in vats by natural lactic fermentation, a protected Alsatian product sold raw or cooked after fermentation.
Dongbei suancai
Napa cabbage fermented in a salt brine in Northeast China, traditionally in large ceramic or glass jars, until it turns sour.
Futoški kupus (Futog sour cabbage)
Serbian sour cabbage from the Futog area, made from the autochthonous Futoški cabbage population and registered as a protected product in 2008. It is a subset of general Serbian kiseli kupus.
Hwanggwa damjeo (1766 cucumber kimchi with chilli)
Hwanggwa damjeo is a cucumber kimchi from Yu Jung-rim's Jeungbo sallim gyeongje of 1766. Slit cucumbers are packed with chilli powder and garlic, scalded with hot salted water and sealed overnight.
Jar sauerkraut with carrot
Shredded cabbage and grated carrot are salted to 20 g/kg, rested, packed into three jars and monitored during a creator-reported eight-day fermentation; measured temperature is not given.
Community
No community contributions have been published for this entry yet.
Share what you made
Sign in to contribute. Published comments and photos are free to read.
Sources
Official Journal of the European UnionIdentity · Method · History
Amendment application for Ogulinski kiseli kupus / Ogulinsko kiselo zeljeProtected area and municipalities; indigenous variety and six hybrids; registered establishments; natural lactic fermentation without preservatives.
Croatian Ministry of Agriculture advisory serviceMethod · History
Ogulinski kiseli kupus dobio oznaku izvornosti od EUCommercial shredded and whole-head processes; staged conditions; the 2015 protection.