Blaukraut (German Braised Red Cabbage)
Sweet and tangy braised red cabbage, Blaukraut, is a must-have side dish with any German meal and a tasty way to get anyone to enjoy red cabbage.
Braised Red Cabbage
Slow braised, red cabbage is a common German side dish.
It's sweet and sour flavors act as the perfect complement to hearty and meaty dishes like Pork Knuckle and Schnitzel.
Blaukraut, Rotkraut or Rotkohl?
In Germany, you'll find this dish called by different names depending on which region of the country you are in.
- Northern Germany calls the dish Rotkohl (pronounced rhot-COAL).
- In central and western Germany, it is known as Rotkraut (rhot-CROWT).
- While in the southern part of Germany, it is known as Blaukraut (blau-CROWT).
Let's take a little German lesson:
Kohl is the northern word for cabbage, while kraut is the word used in central and southern Germany for the leafy vegetable.
Rot is red and blau is blue.
So, basically, the three names all boil down to a dispute over whether to call the dish blue cabbage or red cabbage.
What color is Red Cabbage?
If you've ever looked at a head of (what we would call) red cabbage. It's really not red.
Is it?
It's actually more of a purple cabbage.
But, here we run into some serious problems. In the Middle Ages, purple was considered the color of royalty. To label a common peasant vegetable with the color of royalty would have been unheard of.
So, the name purple cabbage wasn't an option.
But why can't the north and south of Germany agree on red or blue?
The clue to that answer lies in the dirt.
Literally.
A little cabbage chemistry
You see, the leaf color of red cabbage can vary drastically depending on the pH of the soil.
If the soil is acidic, the leaves will appear more red. If the soil is more alkaline, the leaves will appear more blue.
Northern Germany tends to have more acidic soil. This means that to them, it really was a redder cabbage compared to the folks down south who had cabbage with more blue-hued leaves.
Color changing German red cabbage
Just to make the split more pronounced, the preparation of the cabbage differs between north and south Germany as well.
It turns out, cabbage juice is a natural acid-base tester. This means that it changes colors when subjected to acidic substances verses basic substances. (This makes sense when you think about the fact that the leaves change colors depending on the acidity of the soil.)
So, what happens when you add more acidic ingredients, like lemon juice and vinegar, to your braised cabbage?
It turns a brighter red!
And, that's how they like to cook it in the north.
In southern Germany, they like their cabbage sweeter, rather than more tart. They add apples and extra sugar, rather than extra acid.
Some southern German recipes will even have you add alkaline ingredients, like baking soda, just to ensure that their blaukraut, is, in fact, blau.
Our Blaukraut (German Red Cabbage) Recipe
The braised cabbage recipe we have for you today uses apples for sweetness, but also includes just a bit of vinegar, giving it a nice, subtle, sweet and sour flavor.
Our cabbage turned out more of a deep purple in color, rather than either red or blue, but that probably has more to do with the Merlot wine we used as a braising liquid.
(The wine gives the cabbage a wonderful deep flavor.)
Red or blue, give braised red cabbage a try for a nutritious, and incredibly easy, side dish.
If you're not a cabbage fan, but you've never tried it braised, we challenge you to give it a try! You just might like it this way!
Blaukraut (German Braised Red Cabbage)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tart green apple (like Granny Smith), cored and diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 1 lb red cabbage, shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 c dry red wine (like Merlot)
- ¼ c red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the diced onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the diced apples and continue to saute 2-3 minutes.
- Tie the bay leaves, cloves, and peppercorns together in a cheesecloth. (Optional, but this makes for much easier removal later).
- Add the cabbage, spices, salt, red wine, and red wine vinegar. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 1.5 - 2 hours, checking occasionally to be sure there is enough moisture and the cabbage isn't sticking.
- When the cabbage is tender to your liking, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the cabbage. Mix it in well and continue to cook the cabbage for 1-2 minutes, while any remaining liquid thickens.
- This dish can be served immediately (remember to take out the bay leaves, peppercorn, and cloves) or it can be refrigerated for later. Some people swear that the flavor improves with time.
We've updated our pictures since we first shared this recipe on Curious Cuisiniere, but we've left some originals here, in case you've found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
How long does it keep in the fridge?
Ady W
Hi Adrienne. This should keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for around 5 days.
Hi, wondering if anyone has canned this recipe successfully?
@Therease, did you ever get an answer to this question?
Therease, I'm not sure how your comment slipped by our review before. Our apologies.
To you both, we have never canned this recipe. It doesn't have enough acid for water bath canning, but it may work for pressure canning. However, we do not have enough experience with pressure caning to be able to speak to that at this point. If you do give it a try, please stop back by and let us know what you do and your results!
My German mother in law, and my wife would add bacon, cut up small pieces and fried to a crispy texture. She would add this along with a little of the fat and an apple (finely ground). (Of course in Germany bacon is called Bauchspeck and tastes a bit different than our smoked bacon. But you have to use what you can get).
It's delicious.
Sounds delicious Gary! Thanks for sharing!
@Gary R. Thompson, my Mom and my Oma are from Landshut, Bavaria, and They also use speck and a cored, peeled Granny Smith apple diced up with the onion. Great addition to it; it’s the only way I make it!
That sounds delicious!
My Mother used to make a recipe that she got from her Mother in law. They called it Demfkraut, not sure of the spelling. It was a sweet and sour cabbage that would slowly cook down all day. It would start out green and slowly turn red, very similar to your recipes. But there was one difference, it used lard instead of butter. My Great Grandmother was originally from Breslau, Silesia, now called Wroclaw, Poland.
Thanks so much for sharing Judith!
The word is probably Dämpfkraut - that should help if you ever want to look it up.
Do you know when rot kohl was first made? Just curious as to how old of a tradition it is.
Hi Becki. As far as we can tell, rotkohl has been around for a very long time. It is the German word for "red cabbage," and it seems that the braising technique has been a common way to cook cabbage in Germany for ages.