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Vegetables from Georgia

Georgian-style cabbage with beetroot (mzhave)მჟავე

Cabbage is cut into wedges and layered with beetroot, herbs, garlic and chilli under brine. The beet dyes the brine pink within a day and maroon by the second, and the jar ferments at room temperature with a loose lid until the bubbles stop. The method here rests on one web recipe.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Georgian-style cabbage with beetroot itself.

Short entryVegetables8 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOne three-litre jar, from a single web recipe for Georgian-style cabbage with beetroot. Home recipes vary.
Firm white cabbage, cut into wedges with a little core in each1 kg[s1]
Beetroot, sliced and cut into thick strips350–400 g[s1]
Water1.5 L[s1]
Rock salt30 g[s1]
White sugar20 g[s1]
Garlic6 cloves[s1]
Chilli pepper, finely chopped1[s1]
Parsley, allspice, coriander seed and bay leavesA large bunch; 6 allspice berries; 0.5 tsp; 2[s1]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 8 days

Start
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What changes: Firm cabbage is cut into wedges, each holding a little of the core

Step 1 of 5
Cut the cabbage into wedges
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Cabbage is cut into wedges and layered with beetroot, herbs, garlic and chilli under brine. The beet dyes the brine pink within a day and maroon by the second, and the jar ferments at room temperature with a loose lid until the bubbles stop. The method here rests on one web recipe. Made in 5 steps over 8 days. The longest step, ferment with a loose lid until the bubbles stop, takes up to 8 days (recepty.mobi 2026).

Key numbers
Main stepup to 8 daysReported[s1]Ferment with a loose lid until the bubbles stop

What makes this one different

The cabbage is cut in wedges, not shredded, and the beetroot colours the whole jar deep red. It is fermented under brine with herbs and chilli rather than dry-salted like sauerkraut.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Georgian-style fermented green tomatoesUnripe tomatoes fermented in brine with garlic and herbs.
  • JonjoliPickled bladdernut flower buds (separate entry).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

In a Georgian survey of more than 380 people from 2013 to 2019, 60 % reported making pickles or lacto-ferments. The authors note that Guria is very wet and snow-rich, which might explain the prevalence of pickles there.

  1. [s1] recepty.mobi, Georgian-style cabbage with beetroot (lacto-fermentation; beet as colour); read 2026-10other
  2. [s2] bake-street.com, Georgian-style fermented green tomatoesother
  3. [bussmann2021] Bussmann R.W. et al. 2021, Unity in diversity, food plants and fungi of Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 17, 72paper