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Heidelberg Cabbage
Select two small, solid heads of hard red cabbage; divide them in halves from crown to stem; lay the split side down, and cut downwards in thin slices. The cabbage will then be in narrow strips or shreds. Put into a sauce-pan a table-spoon of clean drippings, butter or any nice fat; when fat is hot, put in cabbage a tea-spoon of salt, three table-spoons vinegar (if the latter is very strong, use but two), and one onion, in which three or four cloves have been stuck, buried in the middle; boil two hours and a half; if it becomes too dry and is in danger of scorching, add a very little water. This is very nice, - Mrs. L. S. Williston, Heidelberg, Germany.
A plain German braised red cabbage, sent to an Ohio cookbook from Heidelberg. Nearly everything in it still works; the timing and the fat are what need attention.
- The hinge is the vinegarRed cabbage holds its colour only in acid; without the vinegar it turns a dull blue-grey against an iron or aluminium pan. Add it at the start, as written, and use a non-reactive pan (enamel or stainless) rather than bare cast iron.
- "Very strong" vinegarNineteenth-century household vinegar varied widely in strength, which is why the recipe offers two or three spoonfuls. Modern cider or white wine vinegar runs about 5 per cent; three tablespoons is right for two small heads, and you can correct at the end.
- Two and a half hours is longThat timing probably reflects a slow range with the pot set back from the heat. Over a modern burner set low and covered, shredded red cabbage is tender in 45 to 60 minutes. Longer will not ruin it, but it goes soft and loses definition.
- Keep it coveredThe recipe does not specify a lid, but the warning about scorching suggests steam is meant to do much of the work. A tight lid and the lowest heat mean you will rarely need the extra water. Check every twenty minutes.
- Drippings"Clean drippings" means saved beef or pork fat, strained. Bacon fat is a close modern substitute and suits the dish; butter works, though it browns over a long braise.
- The clove onionA whole peeled onion stuck with three or four cloves and buried in the middle is a seasoning device, not an ingredient to eat. Fish it out before serving, or the cloves end up on someone's plate.
- Cutting the cabbageHalved crown to stem and sliced thin gives shreds with a bit of core in each, which keeps them from collapsing. Leave the core wedge in place while you slice, then discard the tough end pieces.
- YieldTwo small heads of red cabbage, perhaps 2 to 3 lb, serve six to eight as a side. It reheats well and is often said to improve overnight.
- Seasoning at the endA teaspoon of salt for that quantity is modest by modern taste. Taste after the braise and adjust salt and vinegar together; many cooks add a spoonful of sugar or a grated apple, though the original does not.
The name is a signature, not a style: the contributor, Mrs. L. S. Williston, was writing to Buckeye Cookery from Heidelberg, and the dish is simply the German household staple known as Rotkohl or, in the south, Blaukraut with with fat, vinegar and clove. The Marysville, Ohio compilation was the Centennial Buckeye Cook Book of 1876; Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping is the 1877 revision, issued by the Buckeye Publishing Company, and it gathered contributions by name and place in exactly this way, its list of correspondents reaching well beyond Ohio. Recipes sent home from Germany appear often in American compilations of the period, reflecting the very large German-speaking population of the Midwest; the cloves and vinegar here are the fixed points of the tradition, while later versions commonly add apple, sugar or redcurrant jelly to sweeten the acid.