Cooking Cabbage: Helpful Tips—and Health Benefits of Cabbage

Cabbage just doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Besides being a key ingredient dish in cuisines from around the world, this cruciferous vegetable also works brilliantly as a “blank canvas,” according to Culinary Vegetable Institute Chef Jamie Simpson.

“All too often,” he says, “we put our heads of cabbage in the bottom drawer of a refrigerator—and they stay there until they gets old. Instead, you can grill or sear the whole head of cabbage when it’s fresh and then put it into your fridge and use it all week. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Snack wraps. When it’s ready and at hand, you’ll find that it’s an incredibly versatile ingredient that you can easily use in creative ways. Make a salad. Add it to an entrée and make mashed potatoes and gravy as a side.”

More About Cooking Cabbage

Set aside the middle ground, Jamie says, and either quickly put the fresh cabbage on and off a source of heat or go all in by using dry heat in a broiler or oven. “Cabbage has a ton of moisture,” he adds, “so you don’t need to add to it unless you’re making a soup.”

When a couple is shopping for fresh cabbage the Farmer Jones Farm Market, Jamie will ask them which one operates the grill in their household—and then he hands the cabbage to that person. “Grilling works well with cabbage. I love to give it a good hard sear until it’s crispy and aromatic.”

(Jamie doesn’t recommend juicing cabbage. Although that technique works well with numerous vegetables, it’s not what he suggests you do with cabbage.)

“There’s a global use of cabbage,” he says, “which means that you’ll never run out of great recipes to try. All across Europe, people use cabbage in creative ways. In Vietnam, they make delicious cabbage salads, such as those with shaved carrots, basil, lime juice, and fish sauce. I had amazing fritters in an Indian restaurant with cabbage, hot peppers, and chutney. Once you get started, you’ll find that you won’t run out of amazing ways to use cabbage. Seriously!”

Cabbage Recipes

• Purple Kimchee
• Cabbage with BLiS Gourmet
• Paleo BBQ Salmon with Fall Harvest Cabbage Slaw
• Charred Cabbage with Sauce Beurre Rouge
• Arrowhead Cabbage Salad with Honey Mustard and Rye Crouton

Health Benefits of Cabbage

At The Chef’s Garden, we recently wrote about The Incredible, Deliciously Edible Cabbage. In that post, we shared health-related info gathered from medical sources—and one amazing health benefit of cabbage is how it can reduce inflammation. Chronic inflammation can cause all sorts of problems for people and so we were thrilled to read a study that shared how the group that ate the highest amounts of cruciferous vegetables (a food type that include cabbage) showed the lowest inflammation levels.

We also discussed how fermentation can supercharge the health benefits of cabbage—and so that’s just another reason to try the delicious Purple Kimchee recipe we shared and to enjoy sauerkraut at your meals.

Farm-Fresh Cabbage

The Chef’s Garden regeneratively farms cabbage with love and harvests it at the peak of flavor and nutrition—and that’s what we sell at the Farmer Jones Farm. Our cabbage tastes mild and sweet, so delicious! Order your fresh cabbage today.