Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
To Stew Red Cabbage
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice the cabbage.
Wash the cabbage.
Shred the cabbage.
Cut the cabbage thinly.
Stew
Place the cabbage in a saucepan with pepper, salt, and butter.
Stew until tender.
Add vinegar.
Bring to a boil.
Cook the shredded cabbage with onion, pepper, salt, and gravy over low heat.
Add butter mixed with flour and vinegar.
Boil again.
Place the thinly cut cabbage in a stew-pan with ham, butter, broth, and vinegar.
Cover.
Stew for three hours until very tender.
Finish and serve
Add more broth, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Mix well before serving.
Serve with cold meat or sausages.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cabbage + vinegartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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; slow stewing softens its fibres until tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the cabbage a smoother, rounder mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps the cabbage keep its red colour.
- Broth
- Supplies moisture so the cabbage stews gently without drying or scorching.
- Onion
- Softens and sweetens as it cooks, adding savoury depth and aroma.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Stew covered for the full three hours until very tender. Cabbage fibres soften only slowly over long, gentle, covered cooking. Stopping early leaves the cabbage tough, and high heat can scorch the liquid before the cabbage softens.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pepper, butter, vinegar, ham, sugar):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cauliflowerfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pepper, butter, vinegar, ham, sugar. 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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