How to Cook Red Cabbage (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to boil or steam red cabbage? ›

Steaming is an indirect cooking process which means delicate ingredients can be gently cooked to retain their flavour and nutrients. The benefit of steaming cabbage is that it doesn't produce the unpleasant smell associated with boiled cabbage.

How do you boil red cabbage? Red cabbage can also be boiled. To preserve the crunch, cook in salted boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar for 5 minutes unless a softer consistency is desired in which case cook for a little longer.

When cooked in an alkaline liquid like water, red cabbage turns blue. Adding vinegar, lemon juice, or another acid helps the cabbage to retain its red-purple color. Vinegar is also a bright flavor complement to the bold, earthy taste of the cabbage.

If you want to preserve these nutritional benefits, it's best to steam your cabbage. First, because steaming improves its cholesterol-lowering properties. Steaming also preserves more glucosinolates than microwaving, despite longer cooking time. Purple or red cabbage is a special nutritional powerhouse.

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water. This also helps cut the pungent edge. Drain well before combining with other ingredients.

Avoid any that have puffy leaves or outer layers removed. Red cabbages are easy to prepare. Strip off the outer leaves, wash, then slice into quarters, cut out the hard central core on each, then chop or shred.

Add a little salt and the two combine to help draw out some of the fluid and bitterness, making the cabbage slightly softer and easy one the palate. Try to remember to marinate for a minimum of an hour – longer is even better.

Red and green cabbage can be used interchangeably in most recipes. The difference between cooking green cabbage and red cabbage is just one extra step. The compounds that give red cabbage its color, called anthocyanins, are water-soluble and will turn an unappetizing blue color when cooked.

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).

A surprising thing happens when you place pieces of a red cabbage leaf in water. When you squish the pieces and water together, the water turns blue! If you add small amounts of different liquids, the cabbage-water will turn a variety of beautiful colors—pink, purple, teal, or green.

What does red cabbage go well with? ›

It's great with a vinegar- or mayo-based dressings, so a red cabbage slaw pairs well with anything from chicken wings to fish tacos. We even like it all on its own (well, plus sweet and sour sauce).

The simplest way to cook red cabbage is to boil it - put the cabbage leaves or shredded cabbage in a large pan and cover halfway with water, bring to the boil, and cook for three to five minutes or until tender. It can also be steamed – around five minutes in a steamer should be sufficient for soft, tender leaves.

When selecting a red cabbage, the color should be vibrant. You can add this versatile vegetable to soups, stews, salads, and coleslaw. It's delicious raw, steamed, sautéed, or fermented. It retains the most nutrients when it's eaten raw but is still highly nutritious when cooked.

Aside from the noticeable difference in color, red cabbage has an earthier taste and bulbs are smaller and denser. Green cabbage tends to turn sweeter when it cooks and a little bigger in size than the red. The leaves of the green are wide fan-like while of red are small fan-like. They both have crunchy texture.

Steaming had minimal effects on chlorophyll, soluble proteins and sugars, and vitamin C as well as glucosinolates. On the other hand, stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling, two popular Chinese cooking methods, caused great losses of these compounds.