Pickled red cabbage (Mrs Beeton's)

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This is from Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book. This copy was a present for my partner's mother, dated 1950

Ingredients

• Red cabbage
• Salt
• Water
• 2 pints of vinegar 1.13 litres) - to each 2 quart (2 pints) add 1 tablespoon ginger, well bruised
• 1oz (25 g) whole black peppercorns
• A little cayene, if liked

Method

1. Take off the outside decayed leaves of a nice red cabbage, cut it into quarters, remove the stalks, and cut it across in very thin slices.
2. Lay these on a dish, and cover them plentifully with salt, then cover with another dish.
3. Leave for 24 hours; turn into a colander to drain, and if necessary, wipe lightly with a clean, soft cloth. Put them in a jar; boil up the vinegar with the spices, and when cold, pour it over the cabbage.
4. It will be fit for use in a week or two, but if kept for a very long time, the cabbage is liable to get soft and discoloured. To be really nice and crisp, and of a good red colour, it should be eaten almost immediately after it is made. A little bruised cochineal boiled with the vinegar adds greatly to the appearance of this pickle. Tie down with bladder, and keep in a dry place.

Seasonable in July and August, but the pickle will be much more crisp if the frost has just touched the leaves.

See also

• Spicy pickled cabbage (my modern-day version of Mrs B's recipe)