Cabbage

Formerly frowned upon as poor people's food, today the curly green head is valued as a tasty supplier of vitamins and minerals. Cabbage has, among other things, a high vitamin C content. The cabbage provides many health-promoting ingredients - such as dietary fiber, which have a positive effect on digestion and keep you full for a long time. Cabbage is almost exclusively eaten boiled, cooked or steamed. It goes well with meat or fish as a side dish and also tastes good as an independent vegetable dish…

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Botany
ingredients
Use and preparation
storage

Botany

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Sabauda), also known as savoy cabbage, belongs to the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae) together with cabbage and other cabbage plants. In contrast to the cabbage, the cabbage leaves are loosely grouped together as a head. A typical feature are its curled leaves with many veins and wavy edges. They are light to dark green with a round, oval, conical or pointed shape.

Locally grown cabbage is available from early June to February.

Note A distinction is made between tender spring cabbage and stronger autumn or winter cabbage.

ingredients

The head of cabbage provides many health-promoting ingredients - such as fiber, which have a positive effect on digestion and ensure long-term satiety. In addition to the minerals calcium, potassium and iron as well as vitamins C, E and folic acid, it also contains mustard oils and sulphurous compounds. Mustard oils (glucosinolates) make up the typical cabbage taste and are among the secondary plant substances. These compounds can, among other things, lower the risk of certain cancers, influence the immune system, act against bacteria and neutralize cell-damaging oxygen molecules (free radicals).

Cabbage ingredients	per 100 g edible portion, raw	Cabbage ingredients	per 100 g edible portion, raw
Energy (kcal)	25th	Iron (mg)	0.5
Fat (g)	0.4	Vitamin A (µg)	7.5
Protein (g)	3	Vitamin B1 (mg)	0.05
Carbohydrates (g)	2.4	Vitamin B2 (mg)	0.07
Dietary fiber (g)	2.5	Niacin (mg)	0.5
Potassium (mg)	236	Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.2
Calcium (mg)	64	Vitamin C (mg)	50
Magnesium (mg)	12	Vitamin E (mg)	2.5
Folic acid (µg)	90

Use and preparation

Cabbage should be washed thoroughly, leaf by leaf, as it is sometimes soiled with sand or earth. Discard the cover sheets. Cabbage is almost exclusively eaten boiled, cooked or steamed. It goes well with meat or fish as a side dish and also tastes good as an independent vegetable dish. It goes well in soups, stews or casseroles. A classic dish with cabbage are roulades, for which the leaves are previously steamed or blanched whole.

Note Caraway - enjoyed as a spice or tea - helps sensitive people against gas and gas caused by cabbage.

storage

When shopping, give preference to solid and closed heads with rather short stems. The leaves should be crisp and not yellowed. Nevertheless, the color of the leaves provides little information about quality and freshness, rather about the time of harvest - early varieties are significantly lighter than autumn and winter cabbage.

Cabbage should be used fresh as possible, as it cannot be stored easily. Early types of cabbage can be kept for up to three days in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Later varieties can be stored for up to a week a little better. Cabbage is easy to freeze - cut into strips beforehand and blanch for a few minutes in boiling water.