Small history

Cabbage for All Seasons
Raw or cooked, white, green, orange or red,
We always associate cabbage with winter.
But that's a mistake, for to every cabbage there is a season!

Here's a practical little guide for choosing and enjoying members of the cabbage family at their peak of quality and value… as well as some tips for coaxing the best from these vegetables!

General Information

Origin: Eastern Europe
Etymology: from old French caboche, “head.”

Anecdote: the Chinese word for cabbage means “soup spoon,” because of its round leaves.  

Cruciferae family.
This edible garden plant has wide leaves that grow in a fan shape or at the top of a stalk. Unlike its relative, Swiss chard, its leaves are smoother and the veins more rigid.
 
Everyone has heard the story that babies are born in the cabbage patch! In fact, in the past cabbage was associated with babies and was even thought to cause their birth, because a big bowl of steaming cabbage soup was brought to newlyweds the morning after their wedding night.

According to mythology, cabbages came into being from the tears of Lycurgus. One day, distressed at seeing mortals imbibe until they were drunk, he had all the grape vines pulled up, to be replaced by the cabbages that sprang up from his tears. Over time, the vines grew back but the Greeks and Romans believed that cabbage had the power to fend off alcoholic vapors. They would even eat a few leaves to prepare for large banquets at which etiquette dictated that the host refill guests' cups liberally… to the point of oblivion. 

Nutritional values per 100 g (green head cabbage)
Calories: 25; carbohydrates: 5.43 g; fat: 0.27 g; water: 92.15 g; protein: 1.44 g; fiber: 1.8 g.
Rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and vitamins A, B, C and K.

It’s one of the green vegetables with the highest vitamin C contents (more than an orange), as well as vitamins A, B, C, K, PP and U (as many as are in a lemon), minerals and other trace elements. High in fiber – which can make it difficult to digest.

Culinary File

Buying
Choose a cabbage that feels heavy, with a tight, compact head. It should have an attractive green color with slightly crisp, juicy leaves with no yellowing .
Avoid soft, wilted leaves – some grocers remove them to make the vegetable look fresher.
The tenderest are spring cabbages and those that have been touched by the first frosts.

Storing
Head cabbage will keep all winter in a cold cellar or for several weeks in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator.
Savoy cabbage is more fragile and its leaves tend to yellow.

Preparing
Remove any wilted exterior leaves as necessary. Chop the cabbage to use raw in salad; separate the leaves to cook them.

Cooking
Blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes; pour off the water. Cover with fresh water and cook as usual. Changing the cooking water reduces cabbage’s flatulent effects and makes it more digestible. 
Healthy cooking: steam for 30 minutes, covered, to preserve all its nutritional properties.            
 
Enjoying
Even though cabbage excels in its traditional roles, try some new uses for it as well:
• Braised, it’s a perfect accompaniment for roast pork.   
• Pairs well with spices: nutmeg, juniper, cloves and cumin all enhance it.
• Marries wonderfully with feathered game: partridge, pheasant, etc. 
• Steamed, it makes an excellent bed on which to serve grilled fish.
• Be daring! Try a cabbage salad with slices of banana; drizzle with olive oil, cider vinegar and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper; let sit for an hour before serving.

Hints and tips
Cabbage contains sulfurous substances, so in order to prevent the odor from invading the whole house during cooking, add to the pot a crust of bread wrapped in cheesecloth (to prevent the bread from disintegrating into the cooking liquid).
Red cabbage – to preserve its attractive color, slice with a stainless steel knife and add a splash of vinegar to the cooking water.

Varieties

Green cabbage - Capitata
From the Italian cappuccio, meaning large head firm head, smooth leaves; dark green to blue green in colour; star of the first frosts.

White cabbage - Cabus alba Brunswick
Stonehead very pale green heads; smooth leaves;

Savoy cabbage - Sabauda
Curly, crinkly leaves ranging from olive green to dark green; round head.

Red Cabbage - Rubra
Smooth leaves, hard head.

Romanesco
Pyramidal, fractal buds set in spirals, shaped like a peaked cap, pale green in color, deliciously nutty in flavor, sometimes associate with broccoli or cauliflower.

Brussels Sprouts
Miniature cabbages that grow in bunches on a rigid central stem.

Chinese Cabbage - - Po-Tsai
Also called Tango, Tip-Top, Kido, Monument
Unlike common head cabbage, Chinese cabbage is paunchy and elongated (it looks like a head of Romaine lettuce, but thicker), with wide thin white ribs around which extend the curly pale green leaves. Can be eaten raw, cooked, sautéed or grated.

Chinese Chard Cabbage - Bok Choy
Thick ribs; cooked like chard or spinach.

Nappa Cabbage
Very wide ribs; curly leaves grow around the rib.

Cabbage - Preventing flatulence
 

The cellulose fibre in cabbage contains a substance that tends to ferment in the intestines, producing unpleasant and noisy effects! But there's a simple solution to prevent such problems and to overcome cabbage's indigestibility:
• Blanch the cabbage in water, allowing it to cook for a good five minutes after the water comes to the boil;
• discard the water; cover with fresh water and continue cooking.
Keep in mind, too, that Chinese varieties are much more digestible and have fewer "gaseous" effects.