Food By Franz

Thank goodness its easier to eat than pronounce! Try saying “Capitata f. Rubra – a variation of brassica oleracea” instead of saying just “red cabbage”. Those scientific types – makes me wonder what they name their children. Anyway, we’ve all seen red or sometimes called blue cabbage in the produce department. Found readily in the Americas’, Northern Europe and China in has been a staple of human diet since man was “mankind” – for more info on history and growing cabbage – see the previous article on cabbage here.

In keeping with our Oktoberfest/German theme this month – I wanted to include a favorite red cabbage side dish. Traditionally part of a austrian or bavarian meal – Blaukraut as its called. Our red cabbage dish has a simple and “wake up the tongue” taste. It is my favorite german’s side dish of choice with the ROM or Pork Roast – along with potatoes of some sort. Red cabbage is excellent raw, sliced thinly and added to green salad or in coleslaw for a extra crunch and flavor. It stores better than green cabbage as a culinary bonus.

Red cabbage has an interesting property, the plant changes it color according to the PH value of the soil its planted in. In acidic soils, it more red, alkaline soils produce paler colors. This is due to the pigment called anthocyanin – so conversely it can be used as a control in a PH test.
Nutritionally, cabbage in general is a excellent source of vitamin C and contains the amino acid glutamine (good against inflammation). It is often used in diets as it it good fiber and lo calorie
food. According to Wiki – fresh cabbage juice promotes the rapid healing of peptic ulcers.
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Interesting facts:
Red cabbage is a better keeper than its “white” relatives and thus is usually not needed to be converted to sauerkraut to last the winter.
On cooking, red cabbage will normally turn blue. To retain the red color it is necessary to add vinegar or acidic fruit to the pot.
In old European folk medicine – cabbage leaves were used to treat acute inflammation – even treating breastfeeding women.