Sauerkraut is not sauerkraut, and the two are not the same type of food. Generally speaking, the differences between the two are: different concepts, different materials, and different characteristics.

1. Different concepts: Pickled cabbage, also called mustard greens, is a common vegetable in the Yangtze River Basin. It is mostly eaten pickled or eaten fresh. It is a type of mustard greens, while sauerkraut is a type of food. It's called kimchi, a kind of pickled vegetable in some areas of China and Germany.

2. Different materials: Pickles are used as pickles, and the raw materials for pickles are mainly cabbages. In some areas, rapeseed, carrots, etc. are also used for pickling.

3. Different characteristics: Pickles are a variant of mustard, with deeply split leaves and shrunken edges. Fresh pickles are emerald green and have a slightly astringent and spicy taste. They are sold all year round. Sauerkraut is processed through multiple processes. The dead leaves are picked off, cleaned, soaked in boiling water, and fermented in a jar for a week before it is ready to eat. It has a crisp texture and bright color. It is sold all year round.

How to select sauerkraut:

1. Look at the cabbage: Good sauerkraut is slightly white and transparent, the leaves are slightly yellow, and the overall color is very refreshing.

2. Smell: Sauerkraut with a strong sour aroma is better. If you feel that the taste of sauerkraut is wrong or musty, don’t buy it.

3. Look at the texture: good sauerkraut is elastic, while contaminated sauerkraut is sticky and soft.

4. Wash: After buying sauerkraut home, be sure to wash it several times until the color of the water becomes clear. If you don’t eat it right away, or if you don’t finish it all at once, store it in the refrigerator. If you find that the sauerkraut is moldy or has a white film on its surface, you should throw it away immediately. It is also best to wash the sauerkraut you make at home to help control your salt intake.

5. Look at the color of the soup: the soup produced by good sauerkraut is light yellow. After cooking, you find that the vegetable turns golden yellow, which means that the sauerkraut you bought is added with industrial pigments and should be eaten with the soup and vegetables. Pour them out together.