Red Cabbage

About

Red cabbage, also known as purple cabbage, is a type of cabbage with purpleish red leaves used for salads,coleslaw and sweet and sour cabbage. It can also be used as a ph indicator for scientific purposes.
Cabbage is naturally fat-free and cholesterol-free. It is rich in vitamin C, plus offers carbohydrates, calcium, iron, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, potassium and dietary fiber. One cup shredded cabbage contains about 25 calories. Cabbage has been shown to have disease-preventive properties.

Information

Other names: cabbage, kraut

Translations: Sarkanie galviņkāposti, Raudonasis kopūstas, Varza roşie, Crveni kupus, Cải Bắp Đỏ, Czerwona kapusta, Rode kool, लाल गोभी, Краснокочанной капусты, Κόκκινο λάχανο, ملفوف أحمر, 빨간 양배추, Červené zelí, Kol Merah, Red repolyo, 红甘蓝, Llombarda, Rdeče zelje, Červené kapusta, Cavolo rosso, כרוב אדום, Rödkål, Црвеног купуса, 赤キャベツ, Chou rouge, Rotkohl, Rødkål, Rødkål, Lombarda, Червонокачанної капусти, Punakaali, Червено зеле

Physical Description

The red cabbage is a ball of closely formed red leaves. It is dense and round in appearance and is a firm but smooth vegetable.

Colors: deep red or purple, turns an unappetizing blue when cooked

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Mildly sweet and spicy

Mouthfeel: Crunchy, Crisp, Aqueous, Refreshing

Food complements: Vinegar, Carrots, Bacon

Wine complements: Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Red wine

Beverage complements: Beer, Hard cider, Milk

Substitutes: Green cabbage, Savory cabbage, Napa cabbage, Bok choy

Selecting and Buying

Choosing: Choose heavy, firm brightly colored orb.

Buying: Red cabbage is available year round in almost every grocery store.

Procuring: Red cabbage should be harvested in well-fertilized soil in the late winter or early spring. The cabbage is often planted nearly a month prior to the last frost of the year.

Preparation and Use

Peel of the outer layer of leaves and simply slice as your recipe directs. You may want it shredded or just quartered.

Cleaning: Peel off outer layer of leaves and rinse thoroughly. Slice in half and remove tough core.

Conserving and Storing

Red/purple cabbage keeps for weeks in the produce drawer of your refrigerator and makes for a nice vegetable or salad side dish when all the other produce has turned south.

Social/Political

Red cabbage served with ham is a traditional dish for many Swedish families on Christmas Eve and is often enjoyed at other times with pork, spare ribs, ham or similar types of meat. Germany's national favorite is a long-cooking stew made with sweet and sour red cabbage.

History: The cultivated cabbage is derived from a leafy plant called the wild mustard plant, native to the Mediterranean region, where it is common along the seacoast. Also called sea cabbage and wild cabbage, it was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans; Cato the Elder praised this vegetable for its medicinal properties, declaring that "It is the cabbage that surpasses all other vegetables." The English name derives from the Normanno-Picard caboche (head), perhaps from boche (swelling, bump). Cabbage was known throughout the medieval times and in tales of childbirth and witches brew.