8 Cabbage Recipes Packed with Flavor (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put baking soda in cabbage? ›

Adding baking soda to your boiling cabbage can help reduce the objectionable smell and maintain the green color long after when it typically turns grayish from cooking for too long. However, this may rid the cabbage of its nutritional value.

Conehead cabbage

They're sweeter and smaller than a standard green cabbage and have a distinct cone-like shape, she says. Shred these up into a raw cabbage slaw to make the most out of their delicious flavor. “If you see them, you should try them,” she encourages.

A few whole cloves added to the boiling water forcabbage impart a delicately complementary flavor and aroma and may help to prevent gas during digestion. Other sweet spices that may be carminative include allspice, cinnamon and ginger.

As it approaches the boiling point, the enzymes will be inactivated, so no more pungent, bitter compounds will form. Cook only until the cabbage is tender, but no longer. The hot water will leach a lot of the unwanted compounds from the cabbage, making it taste milder than either stir-frying or steaming.

Green is the heartiest variety; it takes well to all cooking methods. Red can turn a funny blue color when cooked, so it's best used raw. If you do want to cook it, add a touch of acid like lemon juice or vinegar to lessen the effect. Savoy can be used in any recipe that calls for green cabbage.

This is a bad practice, however, and you should avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable. It has various unwelcome effects, such as softening the vegetable, altering the vegetable's flavor, destroying thiamine content, and hastening the loss of vitamin C.

Although you get different nutrients if you cook or ferment it, raw red cabbage in particular might give you the best nutritional boost per serving. Slice it very thinly and leave it for about 10 minutes to help bring out the fullest, most complex flavors. Then add it to salads or sandwiches or turn it into coleslaw.

While both green and red cabbage are excellent sources of this potent antioxidant, red cabbage contains significantly more ( 2 , 22 ). One cup (89 g) of chopped red cabbage packs in 56% of the recommended intake for vitamin C, which is the same amount found in a small orange ( 22 , 23 ).

No matter what color cabbage you choose, you can't go wrong. They're both very low in calories and high in fiber and nutrients. Eating just 1 cup of either one provides 4 percent of the recommended daily intake of eight vitamins and minerals.

The negative side of cabbage

While cabbage offers lots of vitamins and minerals your body needs, there can be a downside to eating cabbage. Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. It's best to slowly introduce these vegetables into your diet and gradually increase your intake.

Is cooked cabbage a laxative? ›

Cabbage is rich in fiber and glucosinolates and helps the body retain water. It helps maintain the bulkiness of the food as it moves through the bowels and thus treats constipation.

The team found that the dietary irritant that activated this response most strongly was allyl isothiocyanate – a sulphur-containing compound found in… wasabi, horseradish, cabbage and broccoli. These foods are known to affect gut movements and cause abdominal grumblings when eaten in excess.

We wanted to find a method that would keep the cabbage from watering down the dressing and also a way to make the salad piquant without tasting too sharp. The solution: Some recipes call for soaking cabbage in ice water to make it crisp and plump.

Raw cabbage contains compounds called glucosinolates, which are responsible for its sharp smell and bitter taste. When cabbage is cut or chewed, these compounds are broken down by enzymes, releasing pungent-smelling sulfur-containing molecules.

Blanching: Blanching bitter greens involves briefly boiling them in salted water and then quickly cooling them in ice water. This process can help reduce the bitterness and soften the texture. After blanching, you can incorporate the greens into your dish as desired.

The cabbage juice is called an indicator because it can tell you the pH of a solution based on the color that it changes. The vinegar will turn the cabbage juice red because it is an acid (acetic acid). The baking soda will turn the cabbage juice greenish-yellow because it is a base (sodium bicarbonate).

Submerge the fruit or vegetables in the baking soda water. Let soak for 12 to 15 minutes. The time will help the baking soda do its job. Swish the produce around in the water or push it down several times to ensure all sides of the produce is being cleaned.

Growing aromatic plants amongst the cabbage-type plants — like hyssop, thyme, wormwood, celery, dill, sage and onions — will all help to confuse these insects. BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) or Dipel, if you spray each week, can also control these insects.

Baking soda is an alkali salt possessing the tenderizing and flavor-enhancing properties of regular salt. As an alkaline ingredient, it will make boiling water alkaline, effectively protecting the chlorophyll in green vegetables from breaking down.