If your taste buds are used to saltier flavors in braised red cabbage, this beloved Danish side dish, sweet braised red cabbage, may seem a little surprising at first. But it is absolutely heavenly.
Its sweetness and unique character come from the Danish red currant jelly known as ribsgelé. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to find elsewhere, but a little farther down I’ll still give you some tips on what you can use instead.
This sweet braised red cabbage is an essential companion to the Danish crispy skin-on pork loin roast, flæskesteg, and therefore to the Danish Christmas menu. It is eaten alongside the meat as a side dish, or served with the meat in a bun as a sandwich. But it also goes well with any kind of roast meat, for example with frikadeller, the meatballs that are also popular in Denmark.
Red Currant Jelly — Or What You Can Use Instead
Red currant jelly, or ribsgelé in Danish, can be found on the shelves of almost every grocery store in Denmark. At first you might think of it as jam, but it is actually a crystal-clear jelly made from red currant juice, and it is not only red-currant flavored but also sweet. Of course, if you can get your hands on it in any way, this sweet braised red cabbage recipe will be the most authentic with it.
But if you can’t get it — which is no surprise outside Denmark — you can substitute some kind of berry jam. Naturally, red currant jam will give you the most similar flavor, but raspberry, blackberry, or mixed forest berry jam can also be delicious. Be creative; as far as its flavor profile goes, this ingredient is not so special that you couldn’t make and try this dish yourself.
Additional Seasonings
Danes season braised red cabbage in many different ways, and this recipe is often simply called rødkål, meaning red cabbage. Although this recipe may still seem surprisingly sweet to many people at first, they often add even more sugar to it — sometimes quite a lot.
It is also common to season this recipe with slightly more exotic spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, or bay leaf.
Danish Sweet Braised Red Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 head red cabbage about 3.3 lb (1.5 kg)
- 5 Tbsp plus 1 tsp butter 75 g
- about 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar 100 ml, or apple cider vinegar, 5–7%
- 14 oz red currant jelly 400 g, or berry jam, see the article
- about 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp water 200 ml
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- To make Danish sweet braised red cabbage, the first step is to chop the cabbage. Remove the outer leaves, cut it into quarters, and cut out the core. Lay it on its cut side and slice it into about 1/4–1/2-inch strips (1/2–1 cm).
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the cabbage, vinegar, red currant jelly or jam, water, and salt.
- Cook for about one hour over low-medium heat, stirring often so it does not stick. Cook it covered for the first 15 minutes, then uncovered. It is important that by the end, most of the liquid has cooked away and a glossy, thick sauce remains, completely coating the cabbage. To achieve this, you may need to cook it over high heat for the last few minutes, stirring regularly.
