Pickled Red Cabbage

They say we eat with our eyes and in the winter months we need all the colour we can get, especially if you mix a couple of tablespoons of the pickled cabbage into mixed salad leaves. However this is not a long term preserve.

Its quite easy to do, I did three cabbages the other week and it filled 20 odd jars. This is a very simple pickle to make and is an ideal one to make as part of a Christmas present hamper.


Ingredients:

1 medium red cabbage
1/2 oz salt

For the spiced vinegar

For each quarter pint of white malt vinegar take:

1/2 oz peppercorns
1/4 oz Allspice
1/2 oz mustard seed
1 teaspoon blade mace
1 stick of cinnamon

Tie the spices into a small muslin bag and put into a pan with the vinegar. Cover the pan and bring slowly to the boil. When at boiling point put to one side for about 2 hours or so, so that the spices can permeate the vinegar. If the vinegar is not for immediate use store in sterlized bottles.

Quarter the cabbage taking away the thick white stem as much as you can; then shred the cabbage very finely. I use a plastic bowl to spread the cabbage in layers and between each layer put the salt. Cover and leave somewhere cool for 24 hours. Rinse quickly I do at least 4 rinses to get rid of as much salt as necessary. Best way is to taste it. Pack the cabbage into sterilised jars pushing down as hard as you can to get as much cabbage in as you can. Cover with the cold spiced vinegar. Top with vinegar proof lids and store for no more than three months as the cabbage will lose its crispness. This pickle can be eaten after a week.