red cabbage

Red cabbage is one of those vegetables that earns its place in a kitchen by doing several jobs well: it can be sliced for slaw, braised as a side, fermented into sauerkraut, or cooked down into a sweet-tart dish. By our assessment, its best trait is durability, because it keeps well, cuts cleanly, and gives a lot of usable food from one head. The downside is that it needs chopping and often a bit of cooking to feel right, since raw cabbage can be blunt and sturdy rather than delicate. In practice it is a practical, everyday vegetable with a strong color and a firm bite. Compared with lettuce or softer greens, red cabbage is less tender and more reliable, which is why it shows up in wintery, cabbage-forward cooking. red cabbage suits people who want something inexpensive and versatile that stays good in the fridge for a while, and it is less interesting if all you want is a very mild salad green.