Why we should not overcook cabbage?

Sheela is the Senior Contributing Food Editor at Kitchn and the author of Mediterranean Every Day: Simple, Inspired Recipes for Feel-Good Food. She received her master's degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and is also a Registered Dietitian.

Follow

updated May 1, 2019

facebook

pinterest

email

Page URL

comments

SaveComments

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

A few years ago I gave my local CSA a try. I love frequenting the farmers market, but thought it would be a nice challenge to learn to work with the boxes that were given to me. I held up just fine until the cabbage starting rolling in.

Up until then I never really gave cabbage a chance. I’d only really eaten it boiled with corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day, or in the form of sauerkraut. Turns out I just needed to change the way I was cooking it. Here are the three mistakes I made and now want you to avoid in your quest to cook better cabbage.

Vegan Stir-Fried Cabbage in Peanut Sauce (Image credit: Maria Siriano)

1. Not utilizing other cooking methods than boiling.

Well, that is unless you like the taste of boiled cabbage and the funky smell that wafts through your kitchen when cooking it. Cutting it into wedges and roasting or grilling it results in a tender vegetable with crispy blackened edges. Remember when no one liked Brussels sprouts either? That’s because they only knew them to be boiled and mushy. Once people started roasting them at a high heat, perhaps with a little extra salt and fat (like bacon), it was a game-changer.

You can also try slicing cabbage thin and sautéing it to maintain some of its crunchy texture. Or embrace it raw in refreshing coleslaws and salads.

Tip: If you do like the taste and texture of boiled cabbage, but aren’t a fan of the smell, try steaming it instead. You’ll get similar results, but this cooking method reduces the amount of odor that’s released.

Roasted Cabbage Slaw with Hazelnuts & Lemon (Image credit: Faith Durand)

2. Not choosing the right variety.

Not all cabbage is the same, and reaching for the right type based on how you want to eat it can result in a far superior end result. 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. Its leaves are also a bit more tender than the leaves of other cabbages, making it a great substitute for sandwich wraps. Napa is an oblong-shaped cabbage that has a sweet, soft flavor that’s best enjoyed raw or lightly stir-fried. And finally, bok choy has a flavor and texture that’s more similar to spinach or Swiss chard than other types of cabbage; it shines when it’s simply sautéed.

Read more: Green, Napa, Red, or Savoy? The Best Ways to Eat the 4 Most Common Cabbages

(Image credit: Ghazalle Badiozamani)

3. Not salting it when needed.

If you’re using your cabbage for coleslaw, try salting it first before combining it with the other ingredients. Toss a head of shredded cabbage with one tablespoon of salt, let it sit in a colander for at least an hour, and then squeeze out as much liquid as you can. This helps expel a good chunk of excess moisture that’s hidden in the cabbage that would otherwise result in a soggy slaw.

Cabbage types common in Western (European) cuisine are the green, red and Savoy (with beautiful wrinkly leaves) varieties, while so-called “Chinese” cabbage usually refers to either Napa cabbage or bok (pak) choy.

Red and green cabbage should have a firm, tight head and feel heavy for their size, with no black or soft spots. Savoy cabbage is generally a bit “looser,” meaning that the leaves don’t form as dense of a head as the red and green varietals. Napa cabbage is also looser and usually forms a more elongated, barrel-shaped head. For all varieties of cabbage, it’s perfectly okay if the outer leaves have a bit of wilt or discoloration; you’ll strip those off before you use it, anyway.

Sustainability of Cabbage

Pesticides and Cabbage

Although cabbage’s bitter bite and sometimes sulfurous smell are the result of natural compounds that repel pests, industrial production does use pesticides. The vegetable usually turns up towards the bottom of the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, meaning it doesn’t retain many pesticide residues. If you are concerned at all about pesticide use, go for organic cabbage or check with your local cabbage farmer about his/her growing practices.

Cabbage Cultivation

Cabbage is an easy-to-grow, cold-hardy vegetable. (That’s why medieval northern European peasants were such cabbage fans.) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) handy-dandy crop production visualization tool (highly recommended for all of you food/map nerds out there), China, India, Russia, Korea and Japan lead the world in cabbage cultivation. California and New York lead the United States in cabbage growing.

Cooking with Cabbage

Cabbage can be eaten raw, braised, steamed, boiled, pan-fried and even roasted. Whatever you do, don’t overcook it. Cooking cabbage too long — especially in water — gives off the distinctly stinky smell that has caused a bit of an image problem for the vegetable.

Cabbage pairs surprisingly well with a number of different flavors and can stand up to bold spices like chiles, cumin, juniper berries, caraway seed. It’s classically paired with pork, game (like duck), apples and nuts (walnuts and chestnuts are divine) and is an essential ingredient in many Chinese, Korean, Indian and Italian dishes. Cabbage is also important in Eastern European cookery. Probably the most famous dish is stuffed cabbage and its variations. Irish (and Irish-American) cuisine also relies heavily on cabbage. Of course, there is the ubiquitous St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage, but perhaps the most common Irish cabbage dish is colcannon, made with potatoes and cabbage (or kale). There is even a traditional Irish song inspired by the dish!  Cabbage is also an essential ingredient in coleslaw.

If you can’t stand the lingering smell that cooking cabbage brings, don’t overcook your cabbage! If you quickly sear cabbage, you’ll notice hardly any stinky smell. Other tips:

• Don’t cook cabbage in aluminum pans. Go for stainless steel or enameled cast iron.
• Add a bay leaf or a wedge of lemon to the cabbage while cooking.
• Add a few drops of vinegar to the cooking water or wipe the inside lid of the pan with vinegar.

Preserving Cabbage

No article about cabbage would be complete without a mention of sauerkraut, essentially cabbage that has been left to ferment in salt brine through the process of lacto-fermentation. Besides being the best topping for a hotdog, sauerkraut is important in the cuisines of Germany, Eastern Europe and of Alsace (France). There is the ubiquitous choucroute garnie, an Alsatian delight made with lots of pork and sausage and duck fat. If you want to try your hand at making sauerkraut — it is actually shockingly easy — here’s a great recipe from fermentation guru Sandor Katz.

Likewise, no cabbage-y tome would be comprehensive without a discussion of kimchi, the national dish of Korea. While kimchi basically refers to any fermented vegetable (there are dozens of types of kimchi, and there is even a kimchi museum in Korea), cabbage-based kimchi is especially common. Usually made with Napa cabbage, dried chiles and some type of fermented fish (or shrimp), kimchi, like sauerkraut, is created through the magic of lacto-fermentation. Here’s a great recipe if you want to try your hand at homemade kimchi.

Both kimchi and sauerkraut are excellent ways to preserve fresh cabbage long term (weeks to months), but fresh cabbage can also be frozen.

Cabbage Nutrition

Cabbage is really good for you. In general it is loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K and fiber, and is a good source of folate, potassium and even calcium. All cabbage varieties also contain glucosinolates, the sulphur-y smelling compounds that are thought to be cancer-preventing chemicals. Red cabbage is really the nutritional bomb — it’s loaded with all of the above, plus lots of Vitamin A and even more Vitamin C than green cabbage. Red cabbage is also rich in polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants.

Green cabbage leaves stuck in one’s bra are a common home remedy for swelling and pain that occasionally occurs during breastfeeding. Cabbage leaves are also popular natural remedies for sprains. Additionally, cabbage juice is turning out to be a possible effective cure for peptic ulcers.

Can you eat overcooked cabbage?

Why vegetables should not be overcooked?

Why should we not overcook cauliflower and cabbage?

What can happen to vegetables when they are overcooked?