Why is my pickled red cabbage so pale?

Question

Forgive me, but this is a very particular question:
I love having pickled red cabbage at Turkish restaurants; it's delicious and the color is always a beautiful deep magenta (see picture below). Yet every time I try to make it at home, it comes out a sad, pale white-pinkish hue (see 2nd picture). I massage the cabbage with salt, let it sit for at least half an hour, and then add a brine of salt, sugar, and about a 3:1 ratio of red wine vinegar to water. Does anyone know where I'm going wrong?
Thank you very much
çok teşekkür ederim

Michael J Girardot · Answer

Are you heating the brine first to dissolve the sugar and salt?
I've always heated the sugar and salt in water, poured that over the cabbage while still hot, then add the vinegar (I use white vinegar at room temperature) and mix well.
This heating and quick "cooling" should lock in the color.

Stilian Theodhosi · Answer

Maybe the temperature needs to be somewhat below 100 degrees C, and then the first answer holds true also, at least for green foods like broccoli. Surely for red cabbage it's the same.

Why is my pickled red cabbage so pale?

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