I will reiterate, you have a very lucky family. Take care Bobbi Jo.

Thank you very much for sending me a link to the original recipe and for your notes about the caraway and dill (I don’t care for juniper so I’ll leave that out). The soup I made last night for my nephew used up all the Andoulle sausage, and I added some fire-roasted tomatoes, bell peppers, a little onion, celery, carrot, diced potatoes, a 15-bean mix that I soaked and cooked, and sauerkraut the end. I will definitely do your version sometime this fall (and add the thyme!), as I have two kinds of smoked sausage still in my freezer. One is from Pederson’s Farms, a zero sugar old world style Kielbasa, and the other one is a Jalapeno Cheddar from my store’s deli.

Sister, you are a cooking fool & what a lucky guy your nephew is. Do add the thyme, it really does add to the soup. Also, since I think she was of German descent, I make my own German Sauerkraut and use that. The additions to the kraut are Caraway Seeds, Dill, and Crushed Juniper Berries. And yes, please send me a picture when you’re finished.
Here is Marcia’s recipe which of course I jerry-rigged with Heavy Cream. https://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Amish+sauerkraut+soup

I’m making some soups this week for my nephew, as I usually do this time of year, and send him home with a bunch of frozen soups. One of which is going to have a variety of beans, a ham base, and I’ll add sliced Andouille sausage, and roasted tomatoes (probably will also add potatoes and definitely sauerkraut near the end).

Anyway, while prepping, I was reminded of this recipe… having been through all of your archives while working on your site. I wanted to let you know I’ll be making this soup with the rest of the smoked sausage (it was on sale five bucks per pound, so I got two rings of it). I’ll let you know how i like it. I made something similar ages ago but without the cream, and I used smoked paprika, tomatoes, and chicken broth instead of water. I also probably threw in some okra and some slivers of carrot (I don’t have an issue with carrots). Kind of a fridge-clean-out type soup.

PS – I looked up that PBS show you mention in the post, and I’m happy to have found an episode on YouTube. I do like old shows about cooking and homesteading, and also like Amish culture programs.

Hi John, The ingredients include the juice of the jar of the sauerkraut. Sauerkraut also can come in plastic packets which are OK, Just don’t use canned sauerkraut because it is kinda skunky.
Hope this helps, Deborah

Hi Sheila,
Should be about 1¼ – 1½ Cups or 6 Servings