To Preserve Cabbages
Ingredients
Directions
Harvest and hang
Gather cabbages before severe fall frosts.
Leave the coarse outside leaves on.
Tie a strong string around the stalk.
Suspend the cabbage from the ceiling, heads downward.
Ensure the cellar is cool and dry to preserve the cabbages.
Pack and store
Cut the head from the stump.
Pack the head tightly in a cask.
Fill any gaps with dry chaff or bran.
Store the cask in a dry cellar.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cabbages
- The main preserved vegetable, kept whole so its heads store for months.
- Dry chaff or bran
- Fills gaps between heads, keeping them packed and limiting contact with air and moisture.
The step that matters
Keep the cellar cool and dry. Cabbage heads spoil quickly in damp or warm conditions, where moisture and heat encourage rot and mould. A cool, dry store slows decay and keeps the heads sound.
“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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