Remove the outer leaves from the red cabbage. Then cut into halves, then halve the halves again and cut off the stalk.
Now cut the red cabbage as finely as possible. I use my kitchen machine for this step. The bigger slicing blade is enough to cut it as fine as desired.
Cut the apples into small pieces or grate them by simply changing the blade of the kitchen machine and grate them directly to the red cabbage.
Now add vinegar, salt, pepper, juice, and vegetable stock and knead well with your hands. The whole thing can be processed immediately and tastes very good even then. But it will be very, very good if you let everything stand overnight.
The next day, finely chop the onion.
Heat some oil in a large pan, add diced onions and fry until translucent.
Next, add the sugar and let it caramelize a little.
Now add the red cabbage along with all the liquid. Also, the bay leaf, the cinnamon stick, and the cloves. The cloves can be put in a tea infuser. Or taken out after cooking. Or just leave them inside - after cooking them for an hour, it's not that bad to bite on them (that's how I do it). Alternatively, you can place them into a peeled onion and add it to the pot during cooking time.
Cover with a lid and simmer on low flame for about an hour.
Check now and then to see if more liquid is needed. If so, just add a dash of water.
At the end of the cooking time, when the red cabbage is nice and soft, remove the bay leaf and the cinnamon stick, as well as any cloves if you see some by accident.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.