Pickled Red Cabbage

[jackie j]

My pickled red cabbage wasnt right and I dont know why. If my memory serves me right I ;
shredded it
washed it
salted it
rinsed it
bottled it in sterile jars
Poured pickling vinegar over it ( bought )
sealed the jars.
It has lost its colour and is not edible.
Funny that when I have tried to cook red cabbage it always goes wrong even tho I follow recipes to the letter. It must be something about red cabbage.

[janeyo]

Maybe try green next time

Will be interested in 'proper' answers as am planning on pickling some myself this year

janeyo

[BrideXIII]

was the vinegar warm or cold?

always use cold pickling vinegar with cabbage. and leave the jars to cool properly before packing them.

from mrs beetons.

Red Cabbages
Salt and Water

To each 1.1lt (2 pints) of Vinegar:
25g (1oz) Whole Black Pepper
Cayenne, to taste
Red food colouring (optional)

Take off the outside decayed leaves of a red cabbage, cut in quarters, remove the stalks and cut it across in very thin slices.
Lay these on a dish and strew them plentifully with salt, covering them with another dish.
Allow to stand for 24 hours, turn into a colander to drain, if necessary, wipe lightly with a clean soft cloth.
Put them in a sterilised jar.
Boil the vinegar with spices, when cold, pour it over the cabbage.
It will be fit for use in a week or two and, if kept for a very long time, the cabbage is liable get soft and to discolour.
To be really nice and crisp and of a good red colour, it should be eaten almost immediately after it is made.
A little red food colouring added to the vinegar improves the appearance of this pickle.
Seal the jar and keep in a dry place.

Seasonable in July and August, but the pickle will be much more crisp if the frost has just touched the leaves.

you could also use beetroot juice for a more natural colouring.

[craftyslh]

I normally use white pickling vinegar

[jackie j]

I used cold bought pickling vinegar it may have been white cos I have had problems getting pickling vinegar. You would think that with Tesco's, Sainsburys, Asda and Somerfield in the town it would be easy.
Oh well will try again next year.

[hooraynana]

I make pickled cabbage just the way my gran showed me and its always worked a treat

chop cabbage and rinse
liberally throw salt over pile of chopped cabbage and leave overnight in strainer or colander ( i have stained numerous things doing by forgetting to leave a plate underneath , so beware lol)
the next day after sterilising the jars boil up pickling vinegar ( brown sarsons can get 5l tubs from big tesco's )
put the cabbage into the jars and pour the hot vinegar over
seal jars when cool

oh and granny tip was to only pickle cabbage after a frost - not early in season
we used to eat the pickled cabbage on cold yorkshire puddings may seem strange but is delicious !

Good Luck however you make it next year !

[BrideXIII]

I used cold bought pickling vinegar it may have been white cos I have had problems getting pickling vinegar. You would think that with Tesco's, Sainsburys, Asda and Somerfield in the town it would be easy.
Oh well will try again next year.

now aint that odd, i have had the same trouble getting white, nowhere has it, ended up getting it in the corner shop, happy shopper 35p !!!

i always use white for sweet n sour sauce

pickiling vinegar i got from my greengrocer this year, gallon cans.

white shouldn't make a ddifference to you pickiling, i just wondered if you used it hot and it cooked the cabbage a bit cos red cabbage can lose its colour when cooked.

if it was white maybe it bleached it?

which is why i recommend using dye or beetroot juice?

seems the consensus is also after they have had frost on them, keeps it crisper?

[jackie j]

Asda white pickling vinegar
Tesco brown pickling vinegar
Somerfield none at all
Sainsburys none that I could find or if I could I didnt need it
Bought some Ede's in the market in the end.

[Hilary B]

If you rinse the salt off, make sure the cabbage is dry before adding the vinegar. Commonest cause of failure in pickling is dilution (too much water). The purpose of the salt is to take out some of the water IN the cabbage, so if you put water back when rinsing, it rather defeats the object of the exercise. Home-pickled red cabbage doesn't store for long anyway.