Peppery Pickled Red Cabbage is Great as a Salad or a Condiment

Crunchy, tangy, and bursting with flavor - Pickled Red Cabbage is a versatile and delicious addition to any meal.

This vibrant dish is so easy to make it at home and will have your taste buds dancing.

Get ready to elevate your meals with this zesty homemade pickle. As the saying goes, 'Good things come to those who pickle.' Let's get started!

The recipe is courtesy of my mother-in-law's cousin Betty, who passed away a few years ago after years with Alzheimer's. It was one of her specialties. Betty's daughter recently mentioned that the one thing she regretted she didn't do before her mother passed was to write down this recipe.

Not only did my mother-in-law have the recipe, she had it in cousin Betty's own handwriting! What a treasure for her daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter!

Moral of the story: WRITE DOWN THE FAMILY RECIPES! We were lucky this recipe wasn't lost to the ages, or Cousin Betty's Alzheimer effected brain.

Pickles versus Sauerkraut

While this recipe may look similar to sauerkraut at first glance, there is one key difference. Sauerkraut is a fermented food. The cabbage is packed with salt and left to undergo lactic fermentation over weeks which softens the cabbage and produces a nice tang from the gut healthy bacteria.

This recipe uses vinegar to produce the tang, and only needs to marinate a day or two in the fridge. This allows the cabbage to keep its crunch.

How to Serve Pickled Red Cabbage

You want to let this sit at least overnight if not a few days before enjoying. It isn't spicy hot, but a lovely mix of tangy, sweet, savory and crunchy. Mmmmm!

Serve it as a side salad like cole slaw, or put it in a sandwich or on some fish tacos.

Recipe

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Ingredients

 

• 1 ½ cup vinegar
• 1 ½ cup water
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1-2 red bell peppers (roughly chopped)
• ¾ teaspoons pickling spices
• ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds
• 4 peppercorns
• 1 head red cabbage (roughly chopped)

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients except cabbage into a medium saucepan. Boil for about 5 minutes.
• Place chopped cabbage into a large bowl. Strain vinegar over the cabbage and stir to combine. Let cool.
• Let sit at least overnight before serving. Or pack into mason jars and store in the fridge for up to several months.

Notes

Makes about 3 pints

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