If there’s one vegetable that desperately wants a PR marketing campaign, it’s cabbage. In 2024, the cruciferous vegetable was voted the “most hated” in 5 states throughout the US. The survey, carried out by gardening useful resource Gurneys, found that folks in Massachusetts, Indiana, Alabama, California, and Nevada can’t stand cabbage. To be honest to the divisive vegetable, it wasn’t alone. Mushrooms, cauliflower, celery, and asparagus additionally made the most-hated listing.
It’s not exhausting to grasp why cabbage usually fails to win over many. It may be susceptible to an off placing soggy texture, particularly when boiled. However there are a lot of methods to rework cabbage into an ingredient that’s really fairly tasty. We all know you is perhaps skeptical, however in case you attempt even one of many recipes listed under, you would possibly begin to really feel in another way. Hold studying to seek out out extra about why cabbage deserves a second within the highlight. Spoiler: it’s actually, actually good for you.
Why do folks dislike cabbage?
One of many greatest the explanation why folks can’t get together with cabbage—which is available in many types, —is the scent. It is because the vegetable incorporates sulfur compounds. And if you cook dinner cabbage, the egg-like aroma of those compounds is launched.
However there are methods to keep away from this odor in case you desire. In the event you’re steaming or boiling cabbage, the Italian meals journal La Cucina Italiana recommends including a couple of bay leaves to the water, for instance. Different suggestions embody including lemon-soaked bread to the water, and even some capers. It is because capers are sometimes preserved in vinegar, which incorporates odor-neutralizing acetic acid.
Pexels
The feel of cabbage, too, may also be off placing for some. When it’s overcooked, it may be fairly soggy and even mushy. So with that in thoughts, a very powerful factor to bear in mind when making ready cabbage is to not cook dinner it for too lengthy. In the event you’re steaming it, thinly sliced cabbage shouldn’t take any greater than 5 minutes (the thicker the slices, the longer it’ll take).
However you don’t need to steam or boil cabbage. You too can fry or sauté cabbage, which can give it a pleasant crispy texture. You too can bake or roast cabbage till it’s tender and a little bit crispy.
Is cabbage a superfood?
Studying to cook dinner cabbage is not only useful to your tastebuds, it’s additionally good to your well being. Typically dubbed a “superfood,” the cruciferous vegetable—which is expounded to greens like Sprouts and kale—is full of vitamins.
Per Healthline, one cup of uncooked inexperienced cabbage incorporates greater than half of the every day worth of vitamin Ok, a vital nutrient that helps liver well being and helps blood to clot. It additionally incorporates 36 p.c of the every day worth of vitamin C, a vitamin that helps with a lot of processes within the physique, together with iron absorption.
On high of this, cabbage is a supply of folate, manganese, vitamin B6, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants. The latter assist sort out free radical harm within the physique and persistent irritation, each of which may enhance the danger of persistent illness if left unchecked.
Cabbage’s well being advantages don’t cease there. The vegetable additionally incorporates fiber, which is significant for intestine and digestive well being. You’ll be able to learn extra concerning the significance of getting sufficient fiber in your food regimen right here.
Tips on how to begin liking cabbage: 7 vegan recipes to attempt
This underrated vegetable has luggage of potential and may play a key function in a number of tasty recipes. From ramen to slaw to pasta to schnitzel, learn the way to get one of the best out of cabbage under.
1 Straightforward Vegan Ramen Noodles With Cabbage and Mushrooms
On this quick and straightforward ramen recipe, crimson cabbage is sautéd alongside mushrooms, salt, pepper, and garlic powder till it begins to wilt. After that, it’s rapidly blended with noodles and substances like soy sauce (for umami), toasted sesame oil, and chili garlic to create a flavorful ramen dish that’s wealthy in important vitamins.
Get the recipe
Marina Anferova
2 Smothered Vegan Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage rolls are a staple in lots of Jap European nations, together with Poland and Ukraine. They’re hearty, nourishing, and loaded with taste, due to substances like sautéed onions, carrots, beets, parsley, and rice, all of that are stuffed into boiled cabbage leaves (that are solely boiled till they’re gentle sufficient to roll) and smothered in wealthy tomato sauce.
Get the recipe
Bri Beaudoin
3 Falafel Bowls With Fast-Pickled Cabbage and Tzatziki
Because of its excessive water content material and agency texture, cabbage is good for pickling. However in case you don’t have the time to attend days for fermentation, this recipe will present you methods to quick-pickle in lower than an hour. The extreme taste is the proper distinction to creamy tzatziki, contemporary cucumbers, and crispy falafel.
Get the recipe
Shivangi Rao
4 Vegan Koshimbir (Indian Cabbage Slaw) With Roasted Cashews
On this Indian-style salad recipe, shredded cabbage, cashews, coconut sugar, lemon, and salt are coated with a mixture of fried serrano pepper, cumin, and asafoetida to create a nutrient-dense mixture of tangy, spicy flavors and textures. It’s the best facet dish for burgers, scorching canines, and any of your different barbecue favorites.
Get the recipe
The Curious Chickpea
5 Vegan Cabbage, Potato, and Chickpea Sheet Pan Dinner
Get one of the best out of cabbage with minimal effort with this nourishing and easy sheet pan dinner recipe from The Curious Chickpea. All it is advisable to do is chop your cabbage into wedges and mix it with potatoes and chickpeas earlier than smothering it in dressing (on this case, mustard French dressing) and leaving it within the oven to bake. On this model, tarragon gravy is drizzled over the dish simply earlier than serving for an additional creamy style.
Get the recipe
Zucker & Jagdwurst
6 Vegan Cabbage and Onion Pasta
Pasta lovers will know that this Italian dish is the proper vessel for all your favourite greens. However whereas the celebs of the present are normally substances like tomatoes or broccoli, this recipe from Zucker & Jagdwurst proves that cabbage could be simply as scrumptious with pasta, too.
Get the recipe
Rabbit and Wolves
7Vegan Cabbage Schnitzel
Once you consider schnitzel, you doubtless consider rooster, or not less than substances which have the same meaty chunk to them, like say tofu or seitan. However on this recipe, Lauren Hartmann of Rabbit and Wolves has demonstrated that baked cabbage “steaks” are additionally a scrumptious schnitzel ingredient. “This can be very distinctive, chances are you’ll even be a bit skeptical, however I promise that is cabbage as you’ve by no means seen it earlier than, and it’ll not disappoint,” Hartmann guarantees.
Get the recipe
For extra plant-based tales like this, learn:
Charlotte is a VegNews editor and author primarily based in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.