Red Cabbage Recipe…

Last night I posted about the German meal I made for Sunday dinner. While making the red cabbage I took photos and mentally noted amounts and directions for a recipe I would write today. The red cabbage recipe is really for our Vermont Spätzle website, but I am also sharing it with you.

Today, while scrubbing our home kitchen floor on my hands and knees, I started thinking about why red cabbage is called red and not purple. The same thing goes for red onions, which are also purple.

The bigger question to answer is why the hell with the modern invention of a mop was I scrubbing on my hands and knees? The floor was so dirty from the kitchen project; a mop wouldn’t do the job correctly.

The color of red cabbage comes from a pigment called anthocyanins. Depending on the soil’s acidity levels, where it is grown determines the color. If the soil is acidic, the cabbage will be red; if neutral, the cabbage will be purple, and yellowish-green if alkaline.

So why is it called red when it’s almost always purple? There are many answers I found today when I looked up red cabbage. All colors come from primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, and are used to name things. For example, red cabbage and red onion peels and leaves were used to make a natural reddish-blue dye. Blue and red make purple. Germans call red cabbage after it is cooked blaukraut. Blau is blue in German, making more sense. Red hair is on the yellow side, giving redheads a golden orange-red color.

Some people think it is called red cabbage because of where you live; some places call it purple cabbage, apparently not here. There are dozens of other reasons why red cabbage is called red and not purple, so we get the point.

I use bacon fat to sauté the onions, apples, and red cabbage before the braising process for my red cabbage recipe. I always keep a jar of bacon fat in the refrigerator, which we refer to as liquid gold or porky goodness. The bacon fat gives the red cabbage a lovely flavor that can’t be mimicked with butter. However, butter can be used for vegetarians, and some kind of oil can be used for vegans I suppose. I use the real deal.

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I mise en place all the ingredients before I start cooking. The cut on the vegetable is a rough chop meaning the pieces don’t have to look like perfect dice for this braise. The apples and onions disappear at the end of the cook time.

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My recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and sour, but feel free to add more vinegar if you like it that way. I use apple cider vinegar but have also used white and red vinegar; it’s up to you and what you have on hand. Please do not go out and buy a specific vinegar for this recipe.

The cooked red cabbage freezes well. We always have it for one meal; then, I freeze the rest.

Without further adieu…here’s my recipe.

Red Cabbage

Ingredients

1 head of red cabbage
2 medium apples
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp bacon fat
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup water
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Remove the outer leaves from the red cabbage. Wash and dry the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and cut out the stem. Thinly slice the cabbage.

Peel, quarter, core, and roughly chop the apples. Roughly chop the onion.

In a dutch oven, over medium heat, melt the fat of your choice and sauté the onions and apples until the onions are translucent but not brown. Stir in the cabbage, mixing thoroughly. Sauté for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add the kosher salt, pepper, bay leaf, cloves, brown sugar, vinegar, and water. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours, checking and stirring the cabbage every 30 minutes.

Cook until the cabbage is tender and the apples are no longer visible. Check for seasoning, adding more kosher salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and any visible cloves. Warn your diners there may still be cloves in the cabbage while they are eating.

Guten Appetit!