Apple Cabbage Salad

A nutritional bargain any time of year, cabbage is a particularly good deal during the winter months and on into the early spring, when the supply of fresh vegetables is waning.

The cabbage family of vegetables are known as crucifers, a name derived from their cross shaped flowers. The cruciferae family is distinguished into three groups:

• Stem cabbages include kohlrabi, pak choy,

kale, collards, and Brussels sprouts

• Head cabbages such as Savoy, Napa (bok

choy), red, and green

• Inflorescent (edible flower head on a stalk)

cabbages like broccoli and cauliflower

Our recipe this month is a cabbage salad, or coleslaw. The word coleslaw is derived from

the Dutch “kool” which means cabbage and “sla” which means salad.

Here’s a good way to use your head. Since the top portion of the cabbage is tenderer and shreds more easily, cut the cabbage head in half horizontally. Use the top portion (the half without the core) in salads and slaws. Reserve the bottom half for cooked dishes.

Cooked cabbage gets a bad rap for its strong smell. Well, blame the cook, not the cabbage. The strong odor is the result of overcooking. Cabbage contains isothiocynates that break down into smelly sulfur compounds during cooking. The reaction is even stronger in aluminum pans. Cook just until tender, a few minutes, in a stainless steel pot.

Store cabbage in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Uncut red and green cabbage will keep for 2 to 3 weeks, while less dense cabbage will keep for about a week. Once cut, the nutritional value of cabbage deteriorates rapidly. Cut cabbage should be used within days.