Your recipe sounds like a spiced red cabbage. Extension and USDA do not have a recipe for canning red cabbage however the Ball Blue book has a tested recipe for spiced red cabbage. They are a reliable canning source.

 I assume your German Red Cabbage is a pickled, spiced, chopped cabbage dish. Here is the recipe that is in the Ball Blue Book. which provides safe, tested recipes for consumers, so we are comfortable recommending it.

Spices are always negotiable in pickled products, so you can safely add or subtract dried spices to your taste, or to match the cooked recipe you prefer, but for the cabbage, vinegar and salt do follow the recommendations to ensure it is a safe product.

The vinegar brine makes this a pickled product, so it can be safely boiling water canned. Pressure canning cabbage results in discolored and strong flavored cabbage, so it is not recommended and we do not have research based times for canning cabbage.  .

Spiced Red Cabbage (Source: Ball® Blue Book Guide to Preserving. 2014)

12 pounds cabbage (about 3 large heads)

½ cup Ball ® salt (canning/pickling salt)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup mustard seed

¼ cup mace

2 quarts red wine vinegar

¼ cup whole cloves

¼ cup whole allspice

¼ cup peppercorns

¼ cup celery seed

2 sticks cinnamon

Ball ® Pickle Crisp (optional)

Remove outer leaves of cabbage, core and shred. Layer cabbage and salt in large bowl. Cover, let stand 24 hours. Rinse, drain thoroughly on towel-lined trays, about 6 hours. Combine sugar, mustard seed, mace and vinegar in a large saucepot. Tie whole spices in a spice bad. Add spice bag to vinegar mixture. Boil 5 minutes. Remove spice bag. Pack cabbage into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Add Pickle Crisp to each jar, if desired. Ladle hot liquid over cabbage, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.

If you do not want to use this recipe then I suggest you freeze your German Red Cabbage recipe to assure safety.

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Nellie Oehler