It is a vegetable that is often still underestimated, even though it offers a wealth of varieties and a remarkable amount of good nutrients: cabbage. This winter vegetable usually delights us with rich green tones and is available in many varieties: kale, pointed cabbage, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower are just a few types that can enrich our meal plan with seasonal vegetables in winter. Some varieties are even available year-round. Time to dedicate ourselves to this great and versatile vegetable.
The most popular and healthiest cabbage varieties
Long spurned as poor people's food, cabbage has regained increasing popularity in recent years. Kale in particular is often considered a superfood in America and is a popular ingredient in green smoothies. But is that really true, or is there nothing to the cabbage hype? Let's take a look at what beneficial ingredients some of the most popular cabbage varieties have to offer:
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Kale
This hardy winter vegetable contains almost all B vitamins and packed with more vitamin C than any other cabbage variety. Plus a remarkable amount of iron, vitamin K, over 45 different flavonoids, numerous amino acids, magnesium, calcium, sodium, as well as plenty of dietary fiber and phytochemicals. And that's not even all the good ingredients. So yes, you could say that kale really provides the body with a lot of goodness. You can prepare it traditionally as a kale stew. However, it achieves its best effect raw: In a green smoothie or as a salad ingredient, it delivers maximum nutrient density to your plate.
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Brussels sprouts
Some love them, others really don't like them on their plate: Brussels sprouts are simply not everyone's cup of tea due to their strong flavor. Yet they are super healthy. They compete with kale for the title of the winter vegetable richest in vitamin C. In addition, they are packed with healthy nutrients such as plenty of plant protein, B vitamins, and numerous minerals. They are still not my favorite vegetable, but I found a way of preparing them that I really like: after the Brussels sprouts are cooked (just briefly, not too soft), I cut each sprout in half and sauté the halves in a pan with butter and lots of sliced garlic. Sprinkle Parmesan on top, let it melt briefly, and season with salt and pepper. Delicious.
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Savoy cabbage
Arguably the mother of all cabbages. Savoy cabbage is probably what everyone considers a classic cabbage. Just like its cabbage relatives, it is packed with good ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, and a relatively high amount of folic acid. So go ahead and make cabbage rolls or savoy cabbage stew!
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White cabbage and pointed cabbage
White cabbage and its smaller, slightly more delicate-tasting brother, pointed cabbage, are both popular cabbage varieties for traditional German sauerkraut as well as American coleslaw. Fermentation in particular makes white cabbage significantly easier to digest and even healthier. White cabbage is also full of vitamin C, and this round head of cabbage is also packed with plenty of vitamin K as well as potassium, selenium, and magnesium. Prepared as coleslaw, in an Irish stew with lamb, or as Russian borscht soup, it is an exceptionally versatile winter vegetable.
Freezing, processing, and storing cabbage
In addition to its wealth of good ingredients, cabbage is also exceptionally low in calories and can easily be stored in a cool, dry place for a few days. Nevertheless, it should be consumed promptly. The less the cabbage is cooked, the more nutrients are retained. Don't leave purchased cabbage lying around for too long, as it will lose more and more of its beneficial ingredients. You can blanch it briefly and then freeze it in portions to use gradually later on. This way, it keeps for several months in the freezer. You can also ferment it into long-lasting sauerkraut. Kneaded with salt and stored in a mason jar, the sugar molecules in the cabbage transform into lactic acid thanks to lactic acid bacteria, giving sauerkraut its typical sour taste.
Preparing cabbage to make it easy to digest
One of the main arguments why many people shy away from cabbage is a topic that is often avoided. Yet the high vitamin C content, all the other minerals and trace elements, as well as the mustard oils contained in all cabbage varieties actually speak strongly in favor of consuming plenty of cabbage. However, because cabbage contains fiber that is difficult to digest, eating it leads to an unpleasant side effect for some people: increased bloating. Since you shouldn't cook cabbage indefinitely either—otherwise a lot of valuable ingredients would be lost—you have to use other means to combat this unpleasant side effect. Adding caraway, cardamom, ginger, or coriander to the cooking water makes the cabbage significantly easier to digest. If you're not a fan of caraway seeds, put them in a tea infuser and remove them before eating. The typical, intense cabbage smell during preparation can also be mitigated a bit: a small splash of vinegar, a few lemon slices, or a bay leaf in the cooking water helps reduce the strong cabbage odor.
Other uses for cabbage
Cabbage doesn't just have a positive effect as a food ingredient. The leaves can also be applied externally as a cabbage wrap. Thanks to its inherent mustard oils and flavonoids, a cabbage wrap has been regarded for centuries as an old home remedy for joint pain. The ingredients are said to relieve pain and reduce swelling. In earlier centuries, in the days of sailors, fermented cabbage—sauerkraut—was also considered one of the few long-lasting foods and, thanks to its high vitamin C content, was an important food against every sailor's enemy: scurvy. So you see, cabbage is an exceptionally healthy food. Go ahead and try different cabbage varieties and recipes. You'll see that it enriches your diet in winter.
