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Braised Red Cabbage with Cranberries

Braised red cabbage with cranberries is a side dish cooked with olive oil, brown sugar, garlic, cranberries, vinegar, wine, and spices.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Braised Red Cabbage with Cranberries

Timeabout 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cabbage may be shredded in a food processor.

Cook the cranberries and cabbage

  1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil, brown sugar, and garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes.

  2. Add ½ cup cranberries and red wine vinegar.

  3. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, or until cranberries pop their skins.

  4. Add shredded red cabbage, dry red wine (or cranberry juice), and additional vinegar.

  5. Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until cabbage is tender; stir occasionally.

Finish and serve

  1. Stir in the remaining ½ cup cranberries.

  2. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes, or until cranberries are warm.

  3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. Serve hot or cold, with turkey.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

276Calories
4 gProtein
15 gFat
30 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Garlic + cabbagetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together635 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red cabbage
Forms the bulk of the dish and turns tender and silky during slow covered cooking.
Cranberries
Provide tart fruit flavour and burst to release juice that moistens the cabbage.
Red wine vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps keep the cabbage vividly red.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the cranberries and vinegar.
Garlic
Contributes a savoury aroma that deepens as it cooks gently in oil.

The step that matters

Cook the cabbage covered on low heat. Slow, covered cooking on low heat lets the cabbage soften evenly while trapping moisture. Higher heat can scorch the sugar and dry the cabbage before it becomes tender.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, sugar, clove, garlic, red wine, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Tomatofits better
  3. Mustardfits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, sugar, clove, garlic, red wine, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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