The type of knives and cooking equipment you use can help prevent red cabbage from changing color.
Image Credit: Anjelika Gretskaia/Moment/GettyImages Red cabbage, often called purple cabbage because it tends to look more purple than red, turns into a visually depressing mess if not cooked in the right conditions. This is due to chemical reactions with substances in the water and metal with which it comes in contact.
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Rather than choosing the other ingredients for their ability to match a blue or gray color scheme in your dinner, prevent the cabbage from changing color in the first place.
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Things You'll Need
Purple/red cabbage Stainless-steel knife Stainless-steel, glass, anodized aluminum or enamel pan Liquid measuring cup Lemon juice, vinegar, wine or another acidic liquid Salt (optional) Apple (optional) Instructions
Cut and cook the red cabbage with nonreactive equipment only. Some of the metals used in cookware can leach into or otherwise affect the foods they come in contact with, according to Southern Living.
Advertisement This can offer advantages, like increasing the iron content of foods cooked in cast iron, but reactive metals also change the color or taste of certain foods. Carbon steel, aluminum and cast iron change the color of red cabbage. Even if you are boiling the cabbage, it can still touch the bottom and sides of the pan. Use stainless-steel knives and stainless-steel, glass and unscratched enamel pans. Don’t use plain aluminum, but anodized aluminum is fine; the anodization process creates a hardened, nonstick surface on the pan that acts as a barrier between the aluminum and the food.
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Advertisement 2. Boil the cabbage in soft water if possible. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall writes for The Guardian that hard water in any amount turns red cabbage dark blue.
Add lemon juice, vinegar, wine or another acidic liquid to the dish while the cabbage is cooking. While the alkaline quality of hard water can discolor the cabbage, the acidic quality of vinegars and other liquids helps protect the color. If you’re not following a preexisting recipe, add 1 tablespoon of acidic liquid for every cup of cooking liquid. Related Reading 10 Cooking Tips Every Beginner Chef Must Know
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references
University of Illinois Extension: "Cabbage" WebMD: "Health Benefits of Red Cabbage" The Guardian: "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Red Cabbage Recipes" Southern Living: "A Beginner's Guide to Baking Pans and Tins" Clemson University Cooperative Extension: "Cookware Safety"references
University of Illinois Extension: "Cabbage" WebMD: "Health Benefits of Red Cabbage" The Guardian: "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Red Cabbage Recipes" Southern Living: "A Beginner's Guide to Baking Pans and Tins" Clemson University Cooperative Extension: "Cookware Safety"The type of knives and cooking equipment you use can help prevent red cabbage from changing color. Image Credit: Anjelika Gretskaia/Moment/GettyImages
Image Credit: Anjelika Gretskaia/Moment/GettyImages
- Purple/red cabbage
- Stainless-steel knife
- Stainless-steel, glass, anodized aluminum or enamel pan
- Liquid measuring cup
- Lemon juice, vinegar, wine or another acidic liquid
- Salt (optional)
- Apple (optional)
10 Cooking Tips Every Beginner Chef Must Know
University of Illinois Extension: "Cabbage"
WebMD: "Health Benefits of Red Cabbage"
The Guardian: "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Red Cabbage Recipes"
Southern Living: "A Beginner's Guide to Baking Pans and Tins"
Clemson University Cooperative Extension: "Cookware Safety"
