Pickled Red Cabbage

I've been getting into quick pickling a bit this winter. Red cabbage makes a very nice one, and is an excellent addition to salads, with its brilliant colour and crunchy, faintly spicy flavour. I'll be making use of it in the next post.

It's not much more work than cutting up some red cabbage for one salad, but then it's around for up to a dozen more. Just pick out the larger whole spices when you fetch it out of the jar; they are not particularly nice to bite into.

 

about 4 cups

2 days 20 minutes - 20 minutes prep time 

 

5 cups finely shredded red cabbage

1 bay leaf

2/3 cup filtered water

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons pickling salt

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

Have a very clean 1 quart or litre canning jar on hand with a clean lid and ring. They do not need to be sterilized, but should be fresh out of the dishwasher or scalded with boiling water. 

Wash, trim, and finely shred enough cabbage to fill the jar, tamping it in as you go. Add the bay leaf when it is about half full. 

Put all the remaining ingredients in a pot and bring them to steaming hot. Pour the hot brine over the cabbage. Cap it and leave it on the counter for 2 days. Then, refrigerate it, and keep it refrigerated subsequently. It can be used at any point now, and should keep for several weeks. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Rutabaga Gnocchi.