[Sca-cooks] Keeping color of red cabbage

[Lorenz Wieland]

Cera Chonaill wrote:
> Quick question. How does one maintain the nice deep red color of the
> red cabbage when pickling it? Mine, while the taste is still there,
> losses it's color and ends up pinkish.

Red cabbage is, frankly, a pain in the butt.  I'm hardly a pickle-master,
but I did learn a few things about red cabbage when experiementing with
German cooking.

First off, use only stainless steel or anodized aluminum for any metal
implement that will come in contact with the cabbage, or anything that will
later come in contact with the cabbage like your pickling liquid.  Red
cabbage is highly reactive with iron, and the slightest bit will cause it to
become pink (or, in more extreme cases, blue).  I'd also check your water if
it's not purified -- tap water tends to have a fair bit of iron in many
places.

Second, blanch the cut leaves for a few seconds before further cooking.
This fixes the color better in most brightly colored veggies.  I'm not sure
how this would affect pickling, but it may be worth a try.

Finally, acid is your friend.  I assume this isn't a problem with most
pickles, but other forms of cooked red cabbage really, really want lots of
acid to avoid the veggies turning into pink-grey goop.

-Lorenz