Bear Creek, Wis. - The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and a constant craving for a Sauerkraut-laden hot dog, sausage, or bratwurst all signal one thing - baseball season's back.

This season - whether fans enjoy games at a stadium or in front of a television - one thing's for certain: Sauerkraut will be a big hit among many brat, sausage, and hot dog lovers.

In 2006, Major League Baseball fans were estimated to have bought enough sausages and hot dogs to stretch from RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., to AT&T Park in San Francisco, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. "It's a fact that many of those were eaten with Sauerkraut as a choice topping," said Ryan Downs, co-owner of Great Lakes Kraut Co. His grandfather was an outfielder on the 1909 University of Wisconsin baseball team that traveled to Japan to play against Keio and Waseda universities.

"Each ballpark offers its unique version of the perfect hot dog or brat," Downs said. "Coors Field (Colorado Rockies), Shea Stadium (New York Mets), and Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers) are just a handful of ballparks where Sauerkraut is virtually automatic when buying a hot dog or a brat."

Thanks to recent scientific studies on the health benefits of Sauerkraut - and its chemical compounds that help the body defend against cancer - fermented cabbage has enjoyed increased popularity as a healthy, trendy food, increasingly found on menus at higher-priced restaurants.

"But that doesn't mean it's out of our league," Downs said.

"It still has that ballpark, blue collar sort of feel attached to it," said Jonathan Locke, co-founder of Minnesota-based restaurant consulting firm FoodSense.

HOT & SPICY SAUERKRAUT TOPPING

2 medium onions, cut in half and sliced thin
1 tsp. butter
1 cup Silver Floss or Krrrrisp Kraut Sauerkraut
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ cup ketchup
1 tsp. celery seed
½ tsp. white pepper
3 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce

Sauté onions in butter until soft and lightly caramelized. Add Sauerkraut. When mixture is warm, add remaining ingredients. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened.

Servings: 4

Suggestions: Serve as a side or topping for bratwursts, hot dogs, pork, chicken, or hamburgers.

Silver Floss(r) and Krrrrisp Kraut(r) Sauerkraut, winners of the ChefsBest™ Award as America's best-tasting Sauerkraut, are manufactured by the world's largest Sauerkraut producer, Great Lakes Kraut Co., LLC, Bear Creek, Wis. With processing facilities in Bear Creek and Shortsville, N.Y. - the best cabbage growing regions in the world - the company combines modern technology and four generations of Sauerkraut-making expertise to produce the country's leading brands. Silver Floss canned and jarred Sauerkraut is found in the canned vegetable section of grocery stores in the East, South, and Midwest. Krrrrisp Kraut refrigerated Sauerkraut is located in the meat department at grocery stores nationwide. For more information about Great Lakes Kraut and its award-winning brands, visit www.sauerkrautnews.com.