Aldi is a grocery store with German origins, and so a couple of times each year, Aldi stocks an array of German foods or German-inspired foods. There are certain classics my family likes to get during German week at Aldi. They include cream cakes, spritz shortbread cookies, potato sticks, spaetzle, schnitzel, whole grain mustard, jaffa cakes, frangipane tarts, strudel, a delicious German potato blend, and more.
One item I’ve seen Aldi German week fans salivate over is the jarred red cabbage with apples. I try to find different German-themed foods to try every time Aldi stocks German food, and the red cabbage with apple had never made it into my shopping cart because it sounded unusual, and I honestly wasn’t quite sure how to serve it or what to do with it.
When a small selection of German items unexpectedly showed up at Aldi in the middle of the winter this year — like a mini German week — I decided it was finally time to buy the red cabbage with apple and figure out how to serve it.
I turned to the internet for help. One food blogger who has lived in Germany states that red cabbage with apples is a good side dish for a variety of meals from venison to roast beef or other roasted meats to sausages to spaetzle. It’s popular at Christmas time but is often eaten year round. If you’re making red cabbage with apples from scratch, you’ll use cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. It’s a dish known for having both a sweet and sour flavor.
Deutsche Küche Red Cabbage with Apple cost $2.49 at the time of publication. This is a product of Poland.
This is an Aldi Find, so it’s only in stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, you’ll have to wait until the next German week at Aldi. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not in stock at your local store.
Ingredients are red cabbage, water, apple, spirit vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices. It would be helpful if Aldi would list what “spices” are used.
One jar contains 19 one-ounce servings (about 2 tablespoons per serving). One serving has 10 calories, no fat or cholesterol, 115 mg of sodium (5% DV), 2 grams of total carbohydrates (1% DV), 2 grams of total sugars, and less than 1 gram of added sugars (2% DV).
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
The jar label states this is ready to eat. It should be refrigerated after opening and should be consumed within three to four days after opening.
I served this alongside some roast chicken, cheese egg spaetzle, German potato blend, and steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, all mostly from Aldi. Because the jar says it’s “ready to eat,” I served it at room temperature right out of the jar, then refrigerated the jar once it was opened.
The texture is soft and uniform. We were expecting some apple pieces mixed in with the cabbage, but we couldn’t find any apple-like pieces. It’s a dish that’s often described as sweet and sour, and that’s pretty accurate. It has a mild vinegar flavor and scent. I like sauerkraut, another popular German food, but this isn’t really like sauerkraut. It’s unique.
I like trying new foods and have a broader palate than a lot of my family, but maybe we’re not the ideal people to try this. My family’s opinions ranged from tolerable to bad, and the vinegar smell was hard for us to get past. Some people serve this warm instead of at room temperature like we did, but the smell and taste were so off putting for my family that heating it would not have made a difference. This dish seems like an acquired taste or something that people like if they grew up with it, because there are people who absolutely love it, but that wasn’t us. If you like vinegary or fermented types of food, this might be for you.
I might like this better if it were homemade rather than from a jar. I’m glad I tried it, though.
The Verdict:
Deutsche Küche Red Cabbage with Apple features red cabbage, apple, vinegar, sugar, salt, and various spices. It’s a classic German side dish with a sweet and sour flavor. This was our family’s first time trying this dish, and it wasn’t a hit in our house. If you enjoy German food or like trying new foods, though, this is a popular enough dish in Germany that it’s worth trying at least once.
I love German week. Some of the best bargains follow when the items hit clearance at our inner city stores, which don’t sell many items we love quickly, such as rare cheeses and dark chocolate. One seems to be the odds and ends store, with items I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Did you serve this straight from the jar? I have always eaten German red cabbage as a warm side dish, I think it would taste better heated up.
It can be eaten either hot or cold. My family disliked it enough that heating it up would not have made a difference.
I thought it was delicious!
Ate it cold
Red cabbage with apple… delicious!
I love red cabbage but this brand was dry and bland. Wound up tossing it. Maybe I got a bad bottle.
I personally love this and stock up when I see it! I like to add it to my daily salad!
Our family looks forward to the Red Cabbage with Apple, but it’s nowhere to be found. It’s mentioned online yet the managers shrug their collective shoulders when asked about its existence.
About Bob the poor fellow who had a bad product, he should have returned the jar because the cabbage is vacuum sealed and it’s highly unlikely to be bad.
ALDI please make the Red Cabbage a regular staple next to the Sauerkraut instead of a special.
Aldi won’t see your request here because they’re not affiliated with this independent blog. Here’s how to contact Aldi: https://www.aldi.us/en/contact/
I only eat it hot. My recommendation is heat it up the day before. You can add butter, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar (or red wine) to adjust to your taste. If you want, you can boost the spices. But give it a day…the “new” flavors will blend. Adjust on serving day and eat. That’s one fix.