Akron’s sauerkraut balls

I learned something this holiday season: Sauerkraut balls were invented in Akron and are very much a Northeast Ohio thing. You probably already knew that, right? Well, I did not – at least not until I spotted an ACME Fresh Market ad in the Christmas Day edition of Medina Weekly. I looked it up, and it’s absolutely true.

In 1996, readers of the Akron Beacon Journal voted sauerkraut balls the city’s official food. In 2023, the Akron RubberDucks were temporarily rebranded as the Akron Sauerkraut Balls to celebrate the local delicacy.

Sauerkraut balls were introduced to me in the early 1990s, when I would venture up to Medina to spend time with my wife’s family. My in-laws often took us to D’Amico’s Restaurant, where we enjoyed their famous sauerkraut balls. Those are still the OGs for me. D’Amico’s serves theirs with shrimp cocktail sauce; Thyme 2 pairs them with honey mustard; and Corkscrew Saloon offers a vegan version.

The company that first produced sauerkraut balls commercially in the early 1960s was Akron-based Or Derv Foods, originally known as Bunny B’s, and they may still be available in freezer sections today. The first documented restaurant to serve them was Gruber’s, a German restaurant in Cleveland, in 1907. Cincinnati, another city with strong German roots, has its own version that adds cream cheese to the filling. Most sauerkraut balls, however, stick to pork, sometimes ham, sauerkraut and breadcrumbs.

The portable snack became a staple in Northeast Ohio bars and eateries beginning in the 1960s and remains widely available today.

Most importantly, sauerkraut balls are the ultimate New Year’s Day snack. Leftover pork and kraut are put to good use as a football-watching, healthy-ish bite of yumminess. As a New Year food, they are especially meaningful because pork and sauerkraut symbolize progress and prosperity, while round foods represent abundance.

I have made sauerkraut balls in the past using what I believe was the authentic D’Amico’s recipe, but I prefer to buy them premade, but not cooked, and finish them myself. ACME Fresh Market’s sauerkraut balls, available in the prepared foods section of the deli, fit that bill. I brought some home to test, cooking one batch in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 400 degrees and another in 375-degree oil for about two minutes, until golden brown.

The verdict is in: ACME Fresh Market’s sauerkraut balls were very good. My wife says they are her new favorite store-bought sauerkraut balls, which is saying something – she is the sauerkraut ball expert in our family. We both preferred the fried version slightly over the air-fried ones, though both were delicious. The fried sauerkraut balls had better color and appearance and seemed just a bit yummier. I liked them so much, I am heading back to ACME to buy more.

As always, eat fresh, dine local and be happy!