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French Way of Cooking Cabbage

A French cabbage dish cooked with cream, eggs, pepper, salt, and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

French Way of Cooking Cabbage

Ingredients

Directions

Creamed cabbage

  1. Chop cold boiled white cabbage and let it drain until perfectly dry.

  2. Stir in some melted butter to taste.

  3. Add pepper, salt, and four tablespoonfuls of cream.

  4. After it is heated through, add two well-beaten eggs.

  5. Pour the mixture into a buttered frying pan, stirring until it is very hot and becomes a delicate brown on the underside.

  6. Place a hot dish over the pan, which must be reversed when turned out to be served.

Prepare the sourcrout

  1. Use a barrel that has held wine or vinegar to prepare sourcrout.

  2. Use a special barrel for the purpose.

  3. Slice very white and firm cabbages into fine shreds with a machine.

  4. At the bottom of a small barrel, place a layer of coarse salt.

  5. Alternately layer cabbage and salt, ensuring a layer of salt on top.

  6. Press each layer of cabbage down with a large heavy pestle.

  7. Add fresh layers as soon as the juice floats on the surface.

  8. Season the cabbage with a few grains of coriander, juniper berries, etc.

Ferment

  1. When the barrel is full, put it in a dry cellar, cover with a cloth, place under a plank, and put heavy weights on top.

  2. After a few days, fermentation begins; draw off the pickle and replace with fresh until the liquor becomes clear. Repeat this daily.

  3. Renew the cloth, wash the cover, put weights back, and let stand for a month.

  4. By that time the sourcrout will be ready for use.

  5. Ensure minimal air enters and cover is clean.

  6. Each time the barrel is opened, close it properly.

Serve

  1. Fry the sourcrout in the same manner as fried cabbage, after first boiling until soft in just enough water to cook it, then fry and add vinegar.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

138Calories
7 gProtein
11 gFat
3 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

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. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Cream + vinegartop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,064 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the cabbage soft and creamy as it cooks.
Eggs
Set when heated, binding the cabbage and giving the mixture a firmer texture.
Vinegar
Adds sharp acidity that brightens the flavour of the cooked cabbage.
Cabbage (in the method)
Forms the bulk of the dish and provides its main texture and flavour.

The step that matters

Stirring the eggs in the hot pan. Egg proteins set quickly when heated. If the mixture is overheated or left too long, the eggs turn dry and tough, so it should be stirred until just set with a light browning underneath.

“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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