How to make pickled red cabbage

Why it does not keep like other pickles

Red cabbage is thin-leaved and its structure gives way to acid over weeks rather than months. A jar that is crisp and bright in December is limp and brownish-purple by spring.

The colour goes the same way. Anthocyanins in the leaf are bright magenta in acid, which is why the vinegar makes the cabbage more vivid at first, and they degrade over time.

So this is a pickle to make in quantity and eat within a couple of months, rather than one to lay down. It is quick enough that this is no hardship.

The method

Salting is what buys the crunch. FoodHQ does not publish acidity figures, brine strengths or keeping times, and does not say which pickles are safe unrefrigerated. Those are safety numbers set by a food safety authority; in the UK the Food Standards Agency is the authority. Use a recipe from it or from a body with the same standing, and treat this page as the explanation of what the method is doing.

1. Quarter the cabbage, cut out the hard core, and shred it finely. A mandoline or a food processor slicing disc makes short work of it.
2. Layer the shredded cabbage with salt in a large bowl or colander and leave overnight. A great deal of liquid comes out.
3. Rinse thoroughly and dry well — a salad spinner, or squeeze it in a clean tea towel. Wet cabbage dilutes the vinegar.
4. Pack into clean jars with whole spices: allspice, cloves, black peppercorns, bay, a dried chilli, a cinnamon stick.
5. Warm vinegar with a little sugar until dissolved, cool it, and pour over to cover. Cold or cool vinegar keeps it crunchier than hot.
6. Seal with vinegar-proof lids. It is ready in about a week and at its best within two months.

Variations and uses

• With apple, sliced thin and layered in, which is traditional and good.
• With juniper and bay, in a Northern European direction.
• With star anise and orange zest, which suits it at Christmas.
• With beetroot, for colour and earthiness.
• Sweeter, with considerably more sugar, which is the version most shops sell.
• With cold meats, pork pie, cheese or a ploughman's, which is where it belongs.
• With rich braised meat, where the acidity cuts through.

Notes

Salting

Overnight, then rinse and dry thoroughly. It is what keeps the cabbage crisp.

Cold vinegar

Pour it cool rather than hot. Hot vinegar softens the leaves immediately.

Colour

Bright magenta at first, fading over months. Acid intensifies it initially.

Shelf life

Best within a couple of months. It softens and dulls thereafter.

Yield

A large red cabbage fills several jars, and it reduces less than you expect after salting.

Common questions