# canning cabbage



## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Does anyone can cabbage? I dont like sauerkraut or pickled cabbage, but do add cabbage to a bunch of winter recipes. I was thinking: chop, blanch and hot pack in water with a little salt. Probably pints, maybe quarts as I have a ton of cabbage right now. I froze some last year and it did fine, but have 30 chickens on the way and freezer space will be tight. I will also be dehydrating some, but was looking to see if anyone has canned basic cabbage. Thanks!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I have used cabbage in soup with good results. As for basic cabbage, here are the directions:

Wash and remove outer leaves. Cut into desired size pieces. Boil for 5 minutes. Pack into jars to within 1/2" of top of jar. Add 1/2 tsp. salt to each pint. Fill to with 1/2" of top of jar with cooking liquid OR boiling water. Place lids on and process pints 45 min., quarts 55 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.

NOTE: Newer canning directions say to fill to within 1" of top of jars. I have done both 1/2" and 1" and see no difference.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Honestly very few people actually can cabbage as cabbage simply becuase the end result is so unpalatable. As Sally said it can be used in soups and such but it is basically mush once canned. USDA pulled the instructions for it not for any safety reasons but just because of the poor quality of the canned product. Kraut is the only remaining canning recipe for it I think.

If you can arrange the freezer space you will find the frozen cabbage to be more useful and more desirable IMO.


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## Just Cliff (Nov 27, 2008)

derm said:


> Does anyone can cabbage? I dont like sauerkraut or pickled cabbage, but do add cabbage to a bunch of winter recipes. I was thinking: chop, blanch and hot pack in water with a little salt. Probably pints, maybe quarts as I have a ton of cabbage right now. I froze some last year and it did fine, but have 30 chickens on the way and freezer space will be tight. I will also be dehydrating some, but was looking to see if anyone has canned basic cabbage. Thanks!


You could bury it in a dirt mound and not have to worry too much about it till you wanted some. This used to be done when people didn't have root cellars.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-125.pdf#search=


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

I have canned cabbage-both sour and plain. I didn't find my stuff to be mushy, I followed the directions from Jackie Clay and only simmered until it was wilted-IOW, not cooked completely through when packed into jars. 

It may depend on the variety of cabbage, there is a difference between the purple and green after its been processed. Not a bad difference-for me, the purple came out a tad firmer and milder in flavor.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I know this isn't canned cabbage, but last year I bought a box of heavy plastic freezer wrap (Freeze-tite brand, I believe) and trimmed the cabbage heads and double wrapped them and stuck in the spare fridge that's in the pole barn. These were large 10-13 lb. heads. They lasted about 6 months. We have a high water table here so I don't have a basement.


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