What’s in the box 23/24 February

Here we are at the end of not only another week, but another month too!  I know I have a fun weekend planned and I hope you do, too, but if you need to check out the list for this weeks boxes first, it is here.

Cabbage makes it’s reappearance in our boxes this week (although I doubt my teenaged son will be thrilled about that), so  thought I might just take a look at making it slightly more interesting by pickling it.  Pickling has a long history and was used as a way to store some fresh foods for long periods.  Pickling in high acid solutions, or salty brine, stops the growth of bacteria and preserves colour and , in some cases, enhances flavour and most cultures  have a preferred method for doing this.  Korea has kimchi made from cabbage and radish, India has achar made from mainly mangoes and limes (but can include any number of other vegetables), Albania and Bulgaria have turshi made from mixed vegetables and Poland’s traditional pickles are  cucumbers and cabbage.  Red cabbage is particularly nice to pickle simply because it looks pretty in the jars and is really very simple  to do.

Shred your cabbage and layer it in a glass or stainless steel bowl, salting between layers.  Weigh it all down with a plate and leave for 24 hours before rinsing well and drying as much as possible with paper towels.

Make sure you have enough vinegar to cover the amount of cabbage you have.  It can be plain white vinegar, malt vinegar, flavoured vinegar, apple cider vinegar and you can add whole spices like peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice – whatever takes your fancy.  Bring the vinegar and spices to boil, simmer for 15 minutes, then cover and allow to steep overnight.

The next day strain your vinegar,pack the shredded cabbage into clean jars, cover with the vinegar and seal.

Leave it for at least a week or two before eating.  There – couldn’t be much easier really!

Printable recipe PICKLED RED CABBAGE.

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