Knowledgebase
Ball Recipe Spiced Red Cabbage #875270
Asked June 29, 2024, 4:21 PM EDT
Hello, in looking at the Spiced Red Cabbage canning recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, I'm wondering if the recipe has to be used as specific as it is written, such as:
Red cabbage is listed, can green cabbage also be used?
Brown sugar is listed, can white sugar be used?
Red wine vinegar is listed, can white or apple cider vinegar be used instead?
Lots of spices and seeds are listed as flavorings, I think these keep be skipped, correct?
I'm not sure why this recipe is so oddly specific in it's ingredients. It seems like if substitutions were listed, it could be more widely used. If substitutions are available, as I listed above, please let me know :)
Thank you!
Salt Lake County Utah
Expert Response
See answers listed with questions:
Red cabbage is listed, can green cabbage also be used? You could use green cabbage, but it is going to change your flavor profile a bit.
Brown sugar is listed, can white sugar be used? Brown sugar was tested for this recipe, and again, it would change the flavor profile and may change the preservative quality.
Red wine vinegar is listed, can white or apple cider vinegar be used instead? Either vinegar can be used as long as it is 5% acidic. Using while or apple cider vinegar will change the flavor of your cabbage.
Lots of spices and seeds are listed as flavorings, I think these keep be skipped, correct? The whole point of this recipe is pickled cabbage. If you remove the spices, it is no longer pickled cabbage--just cabbage with vinegar. The recipe needs to be followed the way it was tested, with the knowledge you can change the vinegar as long as it is 5%.
