White cabbage is a popular and very useful ingredient for soups, salads, side dishes. A vegetable can be prepared for the winter, proper canning preserves all valuable trace elements, vitamins and fiber, allowing you to diversify your diet.
How to properly preserve cabbage: useful tips
Cabbage is an inexpensive, affordable and very healthy vegetable. All types are rich in fiber, necessary for normal digestion, proteins and complex carbohydrates. Cabbage contains natural amino acids, vitamins B and C, potassium, magnesium, zinc. The nutritional value of the product is high, while the fresh vegetable contains few calories (from 10 kcal per 100 g).
White cabbage is especially popular, which is consumed both raw and canned. It has been scientifically proven that fermentation processes stimulate the synthesis of ascorbic acid, sauerkraut becomes the most valuable source of vitamin C, which is so lacking in winter. The simplest option involves the use of salt and sugar, more complex recipes include at least 10 ingredients: other vegetables, mushrooms. berries, herbs, spices. The addition of sugar and vegetable oil increases the calorie content of the product to 70-100 kcal per 100 g, those who are watching the weight will have to control the amount of portions.
For winter harvesting, it is better to take late varieties of cabbage, it has a rich taste and contains more vitamins. Strong, dense heads of cabbage are preferred, they are much easier to chop. If the addition of other vegetables is meant, you need to choose ripe, brightly colored specimens, the finished dish will be more beautiful. The amount of spices can vary according to taste, but it is advisable to adhere to the proportions of preservatives indicated in the recipe: salt and vinegar.
Quick sauerkraut: a step by step recipe
The easiest option for homemade preparations is ordinary sauerkraut. It is useful for stewing, cooking hodgepodge, cabbage soup, simple vitamin salads. There are several options for pickling, beginners should choose the easiest one. For canning, you do not need barrels or buckets, the product successfully reaches the desired condition in a glass jar. If the proportions of the ingredients are strictly observed, the dish will surely turn out to be successful.
Ingredients:
- 1600 g white cabbage;
- 100 g of juicy carrots;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt;
- 1 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
- 1 liter of water.
Boil water and cool. Add sugar and salt to it, stir until the crystals are completely dissolved. Peel the cabbage from the sluggish upper leaves, finely chop the head of cabbage with a knife or a special vegetable cutter. Peel and grate the carrots. Stir the vegetables in a deep bowl, squeezing well with your hands.
Put part of the cabbage-carrot mixture into a thoroughly washed dry jar, tamp it. Add another serving of vegetables and crush well again. Continue until the jar is filled up to the "shoulders". Pour the brine over the cabbage so that it completely covers the vegetables. Close the jar with a lid and place in a bowl. Leave the product to ferment for 3 days at room temperature. In the process, the cabbage will give juice, the excess liquid will drain into the bowl.
After 3 days, pierce the cabbage with a long wooden skewer to release carbon dioxide. This simple procedure will get rid of unnecessary bitterness, the cabbage will be white, juicy, crispy. After piercing, remove the jar in a cool place, for example, on a balcony or veranda. The finished cabbage is closed with a plastic or rubber lid; it is better to store it in the cellar or in the lower compartment of the refrigerator.
Korean cabbage: an option for exotic lovers
An interesting solution for those who prefer unusual hot snacks.
Ingredients:
- 1 head of medium cabbage;
- 1 large juicy carrot;
- 1 tsp ground coriander;
- 0.5 tsp cumin;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 0.5 tsp ground hot pepper;
- 0.5 tsp allspice;
- 1 tspsalt;
- 2 tsp Sahara;
- 2 tbsp. l. table vinegar;
- 100 ml of refined vegetable oil.
Wash the cabbage, peel the upper leaves, remove the stumps. Cut the heads of cabbage into large pieces, place in a basin or a large bowl, crush with your hands so that juice appears.
Peel the carrots, grate on a special grater, turning them into long narrow ribbons. Pass the garlic through a press or finely grate. Mix it with carrots. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, add spices, sugar and salt. Mix everything thoroughly, pour the marinade over the carrots, add vinegar.
Put all the ingredients to the cabbage, mix again. Cover the bowl with a plate, place oppression on top, for example, a jar of water. Leave at room temperature for 12 hours. Transfer the cabbage to jars and refrigerate.
Appetizing cabbage salad with cucumbers
The salad prepared according to this recipe will be an excellent cold appetizer or a side dish for meat. It is better to pack it in small jars so that you can use the entire product and do not leave open containers in the refrigerator. From the specified amount of ingredients, about 5 liters of ready-made salad is obtained.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of white cabbage;
- 1 kg of cucumbers;
- 1 kg of juicy carrots;
- 1, 3 kg of ripe fleshy tomatoes;
- 4 sweet peppers (preferably multi-colored);
- 800 g of onions;
- 100 g of dill;
- 200 ml of table vinegar;
- 9 tsp salt;
- 5 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 200 ml of refined sunflower oil.
Wash and dry the vegetables. Peel the cabbage from the upper leaves, remove the stumps, chop the head of cabbage finely. Peel and grate the carrots, cut the tomatoes into slices or cubes, chop the cucumbers into strips. Peel the bell peppers of seeds and stalks, chop the pulp in the same way as cabbage. Chop the onion into thin half rings. The more neatly the vegetables are cut, the prettier the finished salad will look.
Put vegetables in a saucepan, mix, pour marinade from vegetable oil, salt, sugar, vinegar. Add finely chopped dill. Place the saucepan on the stove, bring the vegetable mixture to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer everything over low heat for 10-12 minutes without closing the lid.
Arrange the hot salad in sterilized jars, adding the marinade and tamping the vegetables with a spoon. Tighten the containers with metal lids and turn over on a towel. Wrap the jars with a blanket or rag, leave to cool completely. You can store canned food in any cool place; it is not necessary to put them in the refrigerator.
Borscht in jars: step-by-step preparation
An interesting idea is to preserve the soup concentrate. Cabbage can be used to make a homemade semi-finished product for classic cabbage soup or hodgepodge, but concentrated borscht is especially popular. A mixture of vegetables is added to a boiling broth with pieces of potatoes, boiled for 5 minutes - and a delicious rich borscht is ready. From the specified amount of ingredients, 3 liters of concentrate are obtained, the proportions for cooking the soup can be chosen according to your own taste.
Ingredients:
- 800 g white cabbage;
- 800 g of beets;
- 500 g carrots;
- 500 g of onions;
- 500 g ripe tomatoes;
- 3 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt;
- 100 ml of refined vegetable oil;
- 50 ml vinegar;
- 100 ml of filtered water.
Wash carrots and beets with a brush, peel. Remove the sluggish leaves from the cabbage fork, free the onion from the husk. Grate the root vegetables or chop very thinly. Chop the cabbage, cut small onions into rings, large ones into half rings. Chop the tomatoes into cubes without removing the skin. Put vegetables in a large saucepan, add odorless vegetable oil, salt and granulated sugar. Mix the components.
Pour water into a saucepan, put on fire. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce power, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in vinegar, stir the mixture again and place in clean, dry jars. Each should have different vegetables and a delicious marinade. Roll up the containers with lids, turn over, cover with a thick towel and leave to cool.
Gurian cabbage: a classic of Georgian cuisine
Such cabbage was often prepared in Soviet restaurants and canteens, and it was also found in stores. However, at home, the dish turns out to be even more appetizing and beautiful. Bright pink cabbage, cut into large pieces, looks very impressive in photographs. It is served as a stand-alone snack or as a side dish for fried meat.
Ingredients:
- 2 strong cabbage heads;
- 2 medium beets;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt;
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 0.5 cups of refined vegetable oil;
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. l. ground red pepper;
- 1 liter of filtered water.
Wash the cabbage, remove damaged and sluggish leaves and stumps. Cut the heads of cabbage into large chunks. Wash the beets with a brush, remove the peel, coarsely chop the pulp. Peel the garlic, divide each clove in half. If the garlic is large, cut into 6-8 pieces.
Lay cabbage and beet slices in sterilized jars in layers, moving everything with garlic. The last layer should be beets. Lightly tamp the vegetables with your hands.
Prepare the marinade. Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan, add sugar, vinegar, ground red pepper. For those who like spicier snacks, some of the ground pepper can be replaced with finely chopped chili pods along with the seeds. Bring the marinade to a boil, pour over the vegetables so that the liquid completely covers them.
Close the jars with lids and leave at room temperature for 2 days. Then put the containers in the refrigerator. You can start tasting 3 days after preparation.
Honey cabbage salad: a gourmet find
Salad with a spicy sweet-spicy taste can be served with meat, fried sausages, fish. It is also tasty on its own, as an original cold snack.
Ingredients:
- 1 sturdy, medium-sized cabbage;
- 1 juicy large carrot;
- 1 ripe tomato (preferably red)
- 1 tsp table vinegar 9%;
- 1 tsp liquid honey;
- 2 tbsp. l. rhubarb juice (can be replaced with freshly squeezed lemon);
- 6 tbsp. l. refined vegetable oil;
- 0.5 tsp salt.
Peel the cabbage of sluggish leaves, chop into strips. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater, pour over the tomato with boiling water, remove the skin, purée the pulp in a blender. Put the vegetables in a saucepan, add sugar and salt, put on the stove, cook over medium heat until the cabbage is soft (no more than 7 minutes). Stir the mixture several times in the process. An important condition is not to overexpose the cabbage on the fire, otherwise it will become loose and lethargic.
Remove the pot from the stove, add vegetable oil, vinegar, rhubarb juice and honey. Mix well so that the marinade evenly saturates the vegetables. Transfer the salad to a clean, dry jar, close with a plastic or glass lid. It is best to keep the honey salad in the refrigerator.
