German-Style Red Cabbage Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

FAQs

Should red cabbage be served hot or cold? ›

Simmer for 1 hour until cabbage is soft but not mushy. Serve warm or cold.

Sweet and sour red cabbage is a perfect side dish for sausages, pork chops, schnitzel or German pork burgers. This braised cabbage also pairs well with roast chicken, duck, and roast beef.

Red Cabbage vs.

Red and green cabbage can be used interchangeably in most recipes. The difference between cooking green cabbage and red cabbage is just one extra step. The compounds that give red cabbage its color, called anthocyanins, are water-soluble and will turn an unappetizing blue color when cooked.

While similar in flavor to its green counterpart, red cabbage tends to have a more pronounced earthy taste, complemented by a subtle underlying sweetness. This vibrant vegetable easily elevates coleslaws and salads with its bold color and distinctive crunch.

You can add this versatile vegetable to soups, stews, salads, and coleslaw. It's delicious raw, steamed, sautéed, or fermented. It retains the most nutrients when it's eaten raw but is still highly nutritious when cooked. The flavor becomes a little milder when you cook it.

Red cabbage belongs to the brassica group of vegetables, along with brussels sprouts and kale. It has a peppery taste and is crunchy when eaten raw, but becomes sweeter and softer when cooked. Red cabbage is grown in the UK and is in season from September to December.

The wealth of nutrients in red cabbage including phytochemicals, antioxidants like anthocyanins and indoles, vitamins like C, A, E, K, B1, B2 and folate, minerals like calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron and potassium makes this veggie extremely beneficial for health.

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water. This also helps cut the pungent edge. Drain well before combining with other ingredients.

Red cabbage can also be boiled. To preserve the crunch, cook in salted boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar for 5 minutes unless a softer consistency is desired in which case cook for a little longer.

Is red cabbage healthier than green cabbage? ›

Red cabbage beats out the green version of the vegetable when it comes to nutritional content. Reducing inflammation and guarding against some cancers are just two of the health benefits believed to be the result of eating red (or purple) cabbage, per Healthline.

Purple cabbage, also referred to as red cabbage, belongs to the Brassica genus of plants. This group includes nutrient-dense vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale. It tastes similar to green cabbage.

Overcooking cabbage releases sulfur compounds that can give it a bitter taste. Another possible reason is that the cabbage was not fresh.

Cabbage is a crop that grows best during specific times, making it challenging for farmers. Additionally, it doesn't make much money as they usually only plant it when it's the right season. As a result, when cabbage is not in season, it becomes more expensive.

I'd take it out of the freezer the morning before and put it in the fridge. Then of the day you can re-heat it several ways. In a buttered ovenproof dish, covered with foil, in the oven at 180C (conventional heat) for about 30 minutes.

Let the cooked cabbage cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container (it will keep in the freezer for 3 months). Defrost in the microwave or overnight in the fridge. Reheat in a microwave or in a saucepan on the hob.

Reheat in the microwave on low or in a small pot with a bit of water, just until it's warm. Or repurpose the cabbage in other dishes such as colcannon or soup.

There are a number of ways to cook red cabbage but the most common are to braise or pickle it, although it's also delicious raw in winter salads and coleslaws. Red cabbage is full of vitamins (A, C and K), minerals and antioxidants so eating it raw or juicing it also provides a fantastic health boost.