Purple Cabbage & Blueberry Lemon Drink
Yield: about 2.5–3 liters (10–12 cups)
Prep: 10 minutes
Simmer/infuse: 20–25 minutes
Cooling: 30–60 minutes
Storage: refrigerated, preferably 3–4 days
Ingredients
½ medium red/purple cabbage — about 500–600 g, roughly chopped
1 cup (150 g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves — optional
1–2 star anise — optional
2.5 liters / 10½ cups water
½–¾ cup fresh lemon juice — approximately 3–5 lemons, to taste
¼–½ cup honey, to taste
1 lemon, sliced, for serving
Fresh mint, optional
Ice, for serving
Optional additions
For a more complex herbal drink, you can add:
1–2 tablespoons dried hibiscus
A small piece of fresh ginger
A few fresh mint leaves
½–1 cup apple juice for additional sweetness
Full Step-by-Step Recipe
1. Prepare the cabbage
Remove any damaged outer leaves from the red cabbage.
Wash it thoroughly and roughly chop it into small pieces.
You don’t need to shred it finely—the smaller pieces simply allow the pigment to extract more readily.
Red cabbage contains anthocyanins, the same broad family of pigments responsible for many red, purple and blue colors in plants.
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2. Add everything to the pot
Place into a large saucepan:
chopped cabbage
blueberries
cinnamon sticks
cloves
star anise, if using
2.5 liters water
Bring to a gentle boil.
3. Simmer
Reduce the heat and simmer 15–20 minutes.
The water should become a deep purple.
Don’t aggressively boil it for a long time. A gentle extraction is sufficient, and anthocyanins can be affected by temperature, oxygen, light and other conditions.
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4. Cool slightly
Remove the pot from the heat.
Allow it to cool for approximately 10–15 minutes.
5. Strain
Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl or pitcher.
Pour the mixture through the strainer.
Press the cabbage and berries gently with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
Discard the solids or save the cooked blueberries/cabbage for another use.
6. Sweeten
While the liquid is still warm—not boiling—add:
¼ cup honey
Stir thoroughly.
Taste.
Add another 1–4 tablespoons if you prefer a sweeter drink.
7. Add the lemon
Allow the drink to cool further, then add ½ cup fresh lemon juice.
Stir and taste.
Add additional lemon juice until you reach the desired balance.
This is also where the dramatic color change happens: red-cabbage anthocyanins respond to acidity, and acidic ingredients such as lemon can shift the pigment toward pink/red-purple.
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8. Chill
Transfer to clean bottles or a covered pitcher.
Refrigerate until thoroughly cold.
9. Serve
Fill a tall glass with ice.
Pour in the purple drink.
Garnish with:
lemon slices
blueberries
fresh mint
For the presentation in your picture, add a few thin lemon slices and mint leaves directly to the glass.
Best-Tasting Ratio
If you want something close to the drink pictured, I’d start with:
For 1 liter finished drink:
200 g red cabbage
⅓ cup blueberries
1 cinnamon stick
¼ tsp cloves
800 ml water
150–200 ml lemon juice
2–3 tbsp honey
Then adjust the lemon and honey after tasting.
If it’s too sour
Add honey or a little water.
If it’s too sweet
Add lemon juice.
If it’s too strong
Dilute with cold water.
If it tastes too much like cabbage
Use less cabbage next time and increase the blueberries/lemon, or add ginger/mint.
🫐 What Each Ingredient Does
Ingredient Purpose
Red cabbage Main purple color and vegetal/earthy base
Blueberries Fruit flavor, color and natural sweetness
Lemon Acidity, freshness and color adjustment
Honey Balances cabbage, spice and lemon
Cinnamon Warm sweetness
Cloves Strong aromatic spice
Star anise Licorice-like aroma
Mint Fresh garnish
Ginger Optional spicy freshness
Hibiscus Optional tartness and deeper red-purple color
Why Does It Turn Purple/Pink?
This is actually a fun bit of food chemistry.
Red cabbage contains anthocyanins, natural pigments that respond to pH. In a relatively neutral environment they can appear purple/blue, while increasing acidity can shift the color toward pink/red.
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So:
Cabbage infusion → purple
+ lemon → brighter reddish-purple/pink
That’s why you can make the drink look slightly different simply by changing the amount of lemon juice.
This isn’t artificial food coloring—the color is coming from the plant pigments. Research also shows that red-cabbage anthocyanins are strongly affected by pH and environmental conditions such as heat, light and oxygen.
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Nutrition — Approximate
The exact nutrition depends heavily on how much cabbage/blueberry material is retained after straining and how much honey is used.
For approximately 250 ml (1 cup) of the finished drink made with ½ cup honey and 10–12 cups final volume:
Calories: roughly 25–45 kcal
Carbohydrates: roughly 7–12 g
Sugars: roughly 6–10 g
Protein: very little
Fat: negligible
Fiber: very little after straining
The largest contributor to calories and sugar is honey.
If you use only ¼ cup honey, the drink will be substantially lower in added sugar.
Important nutrition point
Although this drink contains colorful plant compounds, I wouldn’t describe it as a “detox,” “fat-burning,” or disease-curing drink. Its main benefits as a beverage are hydration, flavor and the nutrients/plant compounds naturally present in its ingredients.
Red cabbage is particularly interesting because its anthocyanins have been extensively studied as natural food pigments.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can I make this without blueberries?
Yes.
Use an additional ½–1 cup red cabbage, or simply make a cabbage-lemon infusion.
However, blueberries make the drink fruitier and less cabbage-forward.
Q2. Can I use purple cabbage instead of red cabbage?
Yes. Purple cabbage and red cabbage generally refer to the same type of cabbage used for cooking.
Q3. Can I use bottled lemon juice?
You can, but fresh lemon juice tastes better and is preferable for this drink.
Q4. Can I replace honey with sugar?
Yes.
Use approximately ¼–½ cup sugar, adding it gradually.
You can also use maple syrup.
Q5. Can I make it sugar-free?
Yes.
Simply omit the honey or use a suitable non-sugar sweetener according to its package directions.
Q6. Why did my drink become blue instead of purple?
That’s normal.
The color of red-cabbage anthocyanins changes with pH. Add a little lemon juice and stir; it should move toward a more reddish/purple shade.
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Q7. Why isn’t mine as dark as the picture?
Several things affect the color:
type of cabbage
amount of cabbage
extraction time
amount of water
acidity
heat
light
storage time
Red-cabbage anthocyanin composition varies among cultivars, so two cabbages don’t necessarily produce exactly the same color.
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For a darker drink, use more cabbage and less water.
Q8. Can I drink it hot?
Yes. It can be served warm, although the pictured version is clearly intended as a cold beverage.
For the freshest flavor, cool it and serve over ice.
Q9. Can I make it in a blender?
You can, but I wouldn’t recommend blending the entire mixture.
Blending makes straining more difficult and can produce a much more cabbage-heavy flavor.
For the pictured clear drink, simmer → strain → cool → add lemon and honey is the better method.
Q10. Can I drink the leftover cabbage and blueberries?
Yes, assuming they’re plain food ingredients and were prepared hygienically. They won’t have the same flavor because much of their water-soluble color/flavor has been extracted.
Q11. Can I add ginger?
Definitely.
Add approximately 1–2 inches of sliced fresh ginger during the simmer.
It gives the drink a much brighter, more refreshing flavor.
Q12. Can I add hibiscus?
Yes, and this is one of my favorite variations.
Add 1–2 tablespoons dried hibiscus during the infusion.
It produces a more tart, ruby-purple drink. If using hibiscus, you may need less lemon and a little more honey.
Q13. How long does it last?
Keep it refrigerated in a clean, covered container.
For best quality, I’d consume it within 3–4 days. If it develops an unusual smell, fermentation, gas, mold or off flavor, discard it.
Q14. Can I freeze it?
Yes.
Freeze the strained, unsweetened or lightly sweetened drink in freezer-safe containers, leaving expansion space.
Thaw in the refrigerator and add fresh lemon/mint when serving.
Q15. Is this the exact recipe from the picture?
Not necessarily. The photograph doesn’t provide enough information to determine the original quantities or every ingredient with certainty.
The recipe above is a reconstructed version based on the visible ingredients and preparation technique. In particular, the exact amounts of cabbage, blueberries, spices, honey and lemon cannot be reliably determined from the image alone.
My recommended version
For the closest combination of beautiful purple color + pleasant flavor, I’d use:
500 g red cabbage + 1 cup blueberries + 2 cinnamon sticks + 1 tsp cloves + 2.5 L water → simmer 20 min → strain → ¼ cup hon
