Red Cabbage History
As the days are becoming shorter and cooler, it’s time to start thinking about comfort food. The Dutch are all about hearty meals, stemming from years past where farmers would come in from the fields hungry and tired. We are going to learn a bit about a rather understated vegetable…red cabbage. Not the most exciting of vegetables, to be sure, but there are a few interesting facts we hope you’ll enjoy.
Cabbage is one of the oldest vegetables in human history, dating back for over 4000 years. However, closed leaf cabbages have only been around since the middle ages, when farmers intentionally began to cultivate them this way. The colour of red cabbage depends on the pH levels in the soil where they are grown; in acidic soil, the leaves will be reddish, neutral soils will produce more purple leaves, and alkaline soil will yield a greenish yellow leaf. Because red cabbage is so pH sensitive, it is often used as a makeshift pH indicator.
While originating in the Mediterranean, red cabbage is now grown throughout the world. It is not a difficult vegetable to grow, being planted in spring and harvested in late autumn. Unlike green cabbage, it does not have to be pickled to last the winter.
Aside from the versatility of red cabbage, it also possesses several nutritional benefits: high in antioxidants, excellent source of vitamin C, K and A, good source of dietary fiber, high in minerals, low in calories and high in anti-inflammatory properties. Kind of an all round perfect vegetable, provided you can make it taste good, which we’ll get to.
Different cultures prepare red cabbage different ways, but we’ll focus on Dutch red cabbage, or rode kool. The most popular style is to shred the cabbage, add some butter, sugar, vinegar, cloves, salt and pepper. Often bacon and/or a tart apple is added in as well. Being Dutch, another recipe is to make stamppot, because Dutch people can make a delicious stamppot out of just about anything. Smoked sausage is served with it, of course, and it a mouth-watering treat. It’s the best ‘cause of the wurst!
Which ever way you like to eat the humble red cabbage, or even if you’ve never tried it, we’re sure you will enjoy it! And remember all the health benefits, which make up for the copious amounts of butter, right?
