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Cream Cabbage with Bacon

A creamy cabbage dish cooked with bacon, ham, onion, ginger, and heavy cream.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and cabbage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,001 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Cream Cabbage with Bacon

Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large pot, layer in order: bacon, ham, onion, ginger, and cabbage.

  2. Pour cream over all.

  3. Bring to a simmer.

  4. Reduce heat to medium.

  5. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is soft and liquid is reduced to a thick sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

404Calories
33 gProtein
23 gFat
16 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Green Cabbage1 cup shredded (89g)22
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2

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.

  1. Onion + cabbagetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,001 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Ginger + cabbagetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together545 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,595 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Ham + oniontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,159 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Onion + creamtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together10,827 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

Onion and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,827 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Green cabbage
Forms the bulk of the dish and softens during cooking into a tender base.
Heavy cream
Provides fat and body, reducing into a thick, rich sauce that coats the cabbage.
Country ham
Adds salty, savory meat flavor that seasons the cabbage as it cooks.
Bacon
Contributes smoky, savory fat and flavor to the base of the dish.

The step that matters

Cook until the liquid reduces to a thick sauce. Cream thickens as water evaporates and its milk proteins and fats concentrate. Stopping too early leaves a thin, watery sauce, while cooking too long on high heat can make the cream scorch or separate.

Swap the ginger

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

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Pepperfits better
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, onion, cabbage, 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.

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