Years back, my granny used to make all sorts of pickles and jams.
Sometimes she made her own pickling vinegar, sometimes she used bought (ready made) pickling vinegar. You can still buy pickling vinegar so you don't have to muck about doing your own.
From notes in her old recipe book, it just says Half a gallon (!!!) of vinegar (doesn't say what sort so presume Malt Vinegar), ½ pound of mixed spice, a tablespoon of salt and two onions (doesn't say what sort so I guess it was the ones grandad grew in the garden). Mix in an enamel saucepan and bring to the boil for 5 minutes. Leave to go cold and strain before using it.
For the Red Cabbage (I seem to remember two sorts, one had "plain" leaves, the other had crinkled leaves), she discarded the outer leaves, the bigger leaves she removed the central "stem" before slicing, the inner part she sliced without separating.
They all went in the big mixing bowl in layers, sprinkling salt on each layer. It was left for 24 hours, then washed in a collander and dried thoroughly on cloths (I think they were cut up old sheets). She said if you left it hanging about, the cabbage went soft so she dried it quickly and packed it in the jars (She used Kilner jars) which had been washed and dried (on top of the hob). She put some cabbage in the jar, covered it with vinegar, put more cabbage in, more vinegar and so on until the jar was full, she rapped it on the table between layers to bring any air out. With that rubber ring and the glass top in place, she wiped the top of the jar so that no vinegar got on that metal screw top which would have made it rust.
That's the best I can remember and now you've got me hankering for some!
It's life Jim, but not as WE know it.
Live long and prosper.
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