Name: Braised Red Cabbage with Sour Cream Sauce
Ingredients: 3 pounds of red cabbage (cut into quarters); 1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic; 1/2 cup of roughly chopped onions; 2 tablespoons of tomato paste; 3 cup of cold water; 6 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces; 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, strained; 1 tablespoons of sour cream; 2 teaspoons of salt

Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Braised Red Cabbage with Sour Cream Sauce

Time45 minutes

Ingredients

3 pounds of red cabbage (cut into quarters)
1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup of roughly chopped onions
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 cup of cold water
6 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, strained
1 tablespoons of sour cream
2 teaspoons of salt

Directions

Prepare

Combine shredded cabbage, chopped onions, and garlic in a cooking pan.
Mix tomato paste into the cold water and stir into the cabbage.

Braise

Add 1 teaspoon of salt and butter, stir constantly, and bring to a boil over high heat.
After a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the casserole, and simmer for 45 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and the other teaspoon of salt, then remove from the heat.
Stir in the sour cream and taste for seasoning.

Serve

Serve directly from the casserole or mound the cabbage in the center of a large serving bowl.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

339Calories

24 gProtein

13 gFat

37 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,001 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cabbage + garlictop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together635 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red cabbage: Forms the bulk of the dish and turns tender while keeping its color and structure during braising.
Butter: Adds richness and a rounded, mellow flavor to the braising liquid.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and helps keep the cabbage's red color vivid.
Sour cream: Adds creaminess and a tangy finish that balances the sweetness of the cooked cabbage.
Tomato paste: Adds concentrated savory depth and a mild acidity to the braising liquid.
Onions: Soften and turn sweet during cooking, adding aroma and body to the cabbage.

The step that matters

Stir in the sour cream. Sour cream is added off the heat, after the lemon juice, because high heat and acid can make dairy curdle or separate. Removing the pan from the heat first keeps the sauce smooth and creamy.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, garlic, onion, tomato, butter, cream):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Mangofits about as well
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, garlic, onion, tomato, butter, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Tomato Soup526 recipes

Lemon Sauce236 recipes

Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes

Red Cabbage65 recipes

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Braised Red Cabbage with Sour Cream Sauce