Canned Red Cabbage
Red cabbage has denser, coarser leaves than white, so the brief simmer before jarring does two jobs at once: it softens them and it fixes the color. Without acid in the water, the anthocyanins in the leaves react to an alkaline environment and turn a dull bluish gray — which is why the citric acid here is not only a preservative but insurance that the jar you open in February is ruby, not faded. Citric acid is sold as sour salt in Eastern European groceries and canning aisles; a comparable splash of bottled lemon juice in the blanching water does the same chemistry.
The grated raw beet reinforces the same effect and lends the brine an earthy sweetness, while garlic and clove hold up the spice side. The cabbage is then covered with its own cooking liquid, salted at one tablespoon per liter — roughly a quart — of water. Serve it as a standalone appetizer with roast meat or potatoes, with a light drizzle of oil.
Small things that decide it
- Clove and peppercorn keep developing in the jar and taste far stronger a month on than they do at sealing, so one or two buds per quart jar really is enough.
- Choose firm tart apples of the Antonovka or Granny Smith type; soft summer varieties go to mush in brine within a few weeks.
- Leave the inverted jars upside down until completely cool — a damp ring under the lid tells you immediately that the seal failed.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 448 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Clean the cabbage and shred it finely, simmer for a few minutes in lightly acidulated water, then drain in a colander.
Grate the raw beet and peel the garlic.
Into clean jars pack the cabbage, 2-3 tablespoons of grated beet, the garlic, sugar, citric acid, pepper and cloves; add wedges of tart apple if you like.
Pour in the liquid the cabbage was cooked in, dissolving salt into it at a rate of 1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water.
Sterilize the jars for 10 minutes, seal them, turn them upside down and let cool.
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