Cabbage
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the cabbage into quarters and place cut side down in cold salted water for 10 minutes.
In a kettle of boiling water, add the salt and baking soda.
Drain the cabbage well.
Boil and serve
Plunge the cabbage into the boiling water.
Cover until boiling resumes, then remove the lid.
Boil rapidly for 25 minutes.
Drain well and press lightly to exclude all water.
Dress as preferred.
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.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Small hard cabbage
- Provides the main bulk and texture of the dish.
- Baking soda
- Raises the cooking water's pH, helping the cabbage stay bright green while it softens.
The step that matters
Remove the lid and boil rapidly. Cooking uncovered lets volatile sulfur compounds escape, which keeps the cabbage from developing a strong odor and a dull, drab color. Keeping the water at a hard boil keeps the cooking steady.
“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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