The Cabbage Family at the Store
Cabbage looks straightforward until you stand in front of the bin and realize there are several kinds, each with a different personality. The good news is that once you know what each type does best, cabbage becomes one of the easiest, most reliable
vegetables to cook with. It keeps well, it’s forgiving, and it can be raw and crisp one night, then meltingly tender the next.
Green cabbage is the all-purpose workhorse. It has a firm, dense head and a clean, mild flavor that turns sweeter as it cooks. It is the cabbage most people picture for coleslaw, but it’s just as useful in soups, stir-fries,
and braises because it holds its shape without disappearing. If a recipe simply says “cabbage” and gives no further clues, green is usually the safest choice.
Savoy cabbage is the one with the crinkled leaves. It’s more delicate than green cabbage, with a softer texture and slightly sweeter flavor. Savoy excels when you want tenderness without a
long cook, sautéed ribbons, quick braises, and cabbage rolls because the leaves are pliable and easier to work with. It also makes a gentler slaw that doesn’t feel as rigid or crunchy.
Napa cabbage looks different altogether, more oblong and pale, with loose leaves and thick white ribs. It’s mild and juicy, and it cooks down quickly. Napa is classic
in many Asian dishes, where it is used for stir-fries, soups, and dumpling fillings, and it’s also the traditional cabbage for many versions of kimchi. Because it has more water, it tends to soften faster than green cabbage, so it’s best when you want a tender result rather than a firm bite.
Red cabbage is the most visually dramatic, and it tends to
be a little more peppery and robust when raw. Its color holds well in salads and slaws, and it becomes jewel-toned when braised with a little acidity. Red cabbage can absolutely be cooked like green cabbage, but it benefits from flavors that complement its stronger personality, vinegar, citrus, apples, onions, and warm spices. One practical note is that its pigment is sensitive to pH, so it can shift toward blue in alkaline conditions and toward brighter red in the presence of acid.
Once you see cabbage as a family rather than a single ingredient, shopping gets easier. Choose green for versatility, Savoy for tenderness, Napa for quick cooking and gentle flavor, and red for color and bolder character. Any of them can make a good dinner, but the right one makes it simpler to get the texture you want with less
effort.
