Cabbages and Spinach
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Open the leaves around the heart of the cabbage and wash well in 2-3 waters.
In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add the salt and baking soda.
Boil and drain
Add the cabbages to the boiling water.
Boil for 15 minutes for spring cabbages, 25-30 minutes for autumn cabbages, or 45 minutes for winter cabbages.
Strain the cabbages through a colander and press them dry between two plates.
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
- Cabbages
- Form the dish itself; boiling softens their fibrous leaves until tender.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cabbage and the boiling water so the leaves taste seasoned throughout.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's alkalinity, which helps the cabbage soften and keep a bright green colour.
The step that matters
Boil for the right time for the cabbage type. Boiling time depends on whether the cabbage is spring, autumn or winter. Undercooking leaves it tough and fibrous, while overcooking makes it soft, grey and waterlogged, because prolonged heat breaks down its cell walls and sulphur compounds.
“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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