Braised Red Cabbage with Apple & Caraway

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Baden (Rhine plain)

📍 Where this dish comes from: Baden (Rhine plain)
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Braised Red Cabbage with Apple & Caraway, plated and ready to serve

Rotkohl is the side dish that makes a German Sunday roast complete, and the recipe has remained virtually unchanged for generations, tasting of pure autumn. The combination of red wine vinegar, cloves, and caraway creates an aromatic complexity that is immediately recognisable. Using erythritol instead of sugar keeps it keto-friendly while maintaining the essential sweet-sour balance that defines this dish.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for Braised Red Cabbage with Apple & Caraway

Braised Red Cabbage with Apple & Caraway

Germany's most iconic side dish — sweet-and-sour red cabbage braised for hours with cloves, apple, caraway, and red wine until it deepens to a jewel-like purple.
Print Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: German
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 155kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 small red cabbage (800g) finely shredded
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 1 small apple grated (or 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
  • 100 ml red wine vinegar
  • 100 ml dry red wine
  • 3 tbsp erythritol
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • 3 tbsp duck fat or lard
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions

  • Heat fat in a large heavy pot. Sauté onion until softened, 5 min.
  • Add cabbage, apple, vinegar, wine, erythritol, cloves, bay, and caraway.
  • Season well, stir, cover, and cook over the lowest heat for 1 hour, stirring every 20 min.
  • Remove lid. Cook 20 more min to concentrate flavours. The cabbage should be silky tender.
  • Remove cloves and bay. Taste — balance with more vinegar, salt, or erythritol as needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 155kcal | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Fiber: 5g
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Cooking Braised Red Cabbage with Apple & Caraway in the kitchen

Health Benefits

  • Red cabbage contains numerous antioxidant flavonoids, including quercetin and anthocyanins.
  • Cloves are rich in eugenol, a compound studied for its antioxidant properties.
  • Red wine’s resveratrol content is studied for its potential cardiovascular benefits, though the levels used in cooking are modest.
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