Q: Can you identify this unusual stoneware item? How was it used?

A: Inventor William Saenger of Elmendorf, Texas, called this a "follower for packing sauer-kraut." He was granted a patent for it in 1903. Making sauerkraut requires salting the cabbage, packing it into a container, and weighting the lid so that the cabbage is always submerged under the liquid. Saenger's device was designed to be made of earthenware, stoneware, or other heavy material that would be heavy enough to hold the sauerkraut under the liquid or brine that formed. The holes in the base and the hollow stem allow the liquid to rise above the compressed sauerkraut.

Photo Credit: William J. Hill Collection – Donna Downing photo