My mother grew up in Bad Nauheim, Germany, where she helped her parents with their inn and restaurant called Die Krone (The Crown). When I was growing up, she cooked several traditional German dishes, but one of the most memorable for me was her recipe for sweet-and-sour red cabbage. Though I was a pretty picky eater, I adored the cabbage and loved how it colored the mashed potatoes my mother would always serve with it. Mom never wrote the recipe down for me, but I reached out to German relatives and re-created it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed taking the trip down memory lane. Grating the cabbage takes a while, so make sure to have some good tunes on!
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
1. Using a box grater, mandoline, or a coarse Microplane grater, grate the cabbage. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
Step 2
2. Lower the heat to medium; add the cabbage and apples and stir to combine. Add the juniper berries, allspice berries, cloves, bay leaf, salt, pepper, jelly, vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 cup (120ml) of water and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 40 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.
Step 3
3. Remove the juniper berries, allspice berries, cloves, and bay leaf. Serve the cabbage hot or at room temperature. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Leftovers can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
