After reading other reviews that stated this soup seemed bland I made a few changes. First, I didn't saute the onions and I don't think it really made any difference. I used a meaty ham bone instead of smoked ham hocks because I had one left over from a Christmas party. I cooked it in 4 cups water and 2 cups vegetable broth for a little extra flavor. Also, I drained the sauerkraut but did NOT rinse it. Rinsing sauerkraut washes most of the flavor away, which is probably the main reason most people thought this soup bland. I never rinse it (but that might be because I'm Polish, and we like our kraut more sour I guess). I also added 5 or 6 sliced mushrooms and 1/3c quick-cooking pearl barley when I added the sauerkraut to make it more hearty. I did not use any bacon because the soup is already a little greasy from the ham. Instead I thickened it with about 2-3 T cornstarch. I didn't want it too thick. Finally, I made sure to temper the sourcream before adding. It sounds like a lot of changes, but they were all more like little tweaks, and made for a wonderfully delicious and flavorful soup. I highly recommend it.

The soup was a little too watery and even with the sour cream, lacked something. It does have a German taste but not a hearty soup.

Very good! Even my husband and 8 yr old son loved it....and didn't complain about left-overs the next night! Very important to temper the sour cream.....a bit of a hassle, but a definite must!

I couldn't believe it when I saw this recipe! I grew up on the stuff and have been craving it since the temperatures have dropped. The only difference was the addition of sour cream. For the rater who had her sour cream curdle... you did not temper it. Always add a small amount of the hot liquid to the sour cream, mix well, add a little more of the hot liquid, mix well, THEN add it to the rest of the hot liquid. This stuff is even better the second day!

We served this to start a German themed meal. Everyone loved it! It was fairly easy to make, although time consuming, much more than the 15 minutes prep time in the recipe to chop onions, cook bacon and prep other ingredients. The most difficult task was removing the meat from the ham hocks.

I so wanted to give a good review, but it's still sitting in my refridgerator. I can't bring myself to taste it! The sour cream curdled, and it looks awful!

Tasted just like I used to eat when I was a kid.

One word -- biohazard. This soup lacked in body, flavor, and balance all of which are essential to the success of a soup.