Corned beef and cabbage. Cole slaw. Sauerkraut. Stir fry. All great. All appropriate avenues for cabbage. But when you head to the supermarket to buy this crunchy vegetable, there isn’t just one big bin of cabbage. There are different types of cabbage, some smaller, some larger, some different colors, and some different textures. Which leads us to the question, what’s up with all those different types of cabbage? Well, this is what’s up:
Corned beef and green cabbage, friends since forever
Green Cabbage
This is what you think of, when you think of cabbage. This is the OG. This is the archetype. This is the worldwide option. Green cabbage is good for just about everything. You can slice it for vinegar-y or mayonnaise-y slaw, braise it alongside hefty meats, ferment it to make sauerkraut, stir fry it with some soy and protein, slice or chop it in a salad, or char the hell out of it by roasting or grilling. This is all thanks to green cabbage’s sturdiness. The ribs (the thick parts toward the core) are very hefty, which makes them hold up to more aggressive cooking.
Red cabbage, at home on some tostadas
Red Cabbage
All the stuff you can do with green cabbage, you can also do with red. From a texture standpoint, they’re almost identical. Red cabbage is just a bit, well, prettier. We really love to quick-pickle sliced red cabbage or use it in a vinegar-based slaw on top of some tacos. A word of warning though. The color of red cabbage bleeds into the surrounding ingredients, so if you don’t want things turning a little bit purple, stick with green.
