Cabbage, Boiled
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove all dead outer leaves from the cabbages and cut off as much of the stalk as possible.
Cut the cabbages across twice at the stalk end.
If the cabbages are very large, quarter them.
Wash the cabbages well in cold water and drain in a colander.
Boil
Bring plenty of water to a fast boil and add salt and baking soda.
Stir the cabbages once or twice in the boiling water, keeping the pan uncovered.
Boil until tender: small young cabbages for 15 to 20 minutes, large cabbages and savoys for 30 to 40 minutes.
Once done, transfer the cabbages to a colander, cover with a plate, and let them drain thoroughly.
Cut the cabbages into squares before serving.
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
- Forms the main body of the dish and becomes tender and mild as it cooks.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's alkalinity, which helps the cabbage keep a bright green colour while boiling.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cabbage and the boiling water.
The step that matters
Keep the pan uncovered while boiling. Cabbage releases volatile sulfur compounds that cause a strong smell when cooked in a closed pan. Boiling uncovered lets these escape and helps the cabbage stay greener.
“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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