Cabbage
Home | Recipes | Diet Recipes | Dinner Party Menus | Food History | Culinary Dictionary | Diet, Health & Beauty
Choose firm heads that feel heavy for their size. Outer leaves should
look fresh, have good color, and be free of blemishes.
TIPS: A fast and easy way to remove leaves from cabbage is to cut around the core at the base of the cabbage. Remove the core and grasp each individual cabbage leaf at its base, rather than at the leaf's outer edge. Gently lift the cabbage leaf from the cabbage.
One pound cabbage equals 4 cups shredded or 2 cups cooked cabbage.
Cabbage belongs to the Cruciferae (mustard)
family and is of the genus Brassica, species oleracea, variety capitata.
To shred the cabbage by hand, quarter and then core the cabbage. Separate the cabbage quarters into stacks so leaves will flatten when pressed lightly. Use a large knife to cut each stack of cabbage diagonally into thin shreds. To chop the cabbage, turn the pile of shredded cabbage widthwise, then cut the cabbage shreds into a fine dice.
For a crisper cabbage for salads, shred the cabbage and soak it in salted ice water for 15 minutes and then drain.
Avoid: New cabbage with wilted or decayed outer leaves or with leaves turning decidedly yellow. Worm-eaten outer leaves often indicate that the worm injury penetrates into the head. Storage cabbage with outer leaves badly discolored, dried, or decayed probably is over-aged. Separation of the stems of leaves from the central stem at the base of the head also indicates over-age."