Cabbage

[Deleted]

Love it or hate it? Since it is almost winter for a lot of us now, cabbage is extremely present at the markets, but how many of us actually eat it? Many people find the aroma unpleasant obviously hinders appreciation, even if some people actually like to eat it even though they hate the smell when it is cooking. Then there are the people who find that it gives them unpleasant gaseous intestinal events. Some of them eat it anyway, some of them don't.

I am pretty sure that I have always loved cabbage, because it was in the genetic makeup of my family as something that you obviously eat. There were all of the stews with cabbage, carrots and potatoes, soups and of course sauerkraut, since my grandmother was practically inches from Alsace in her youth in the Vosges mountains.

I will admit that eating raw cabbage seems to have arrived in my life only after my mother arrived in the United States and discovered things like cole slaw. I don't remember my French grandmother ever serving raw or even marinated cabbage in any form. But she loved cole slaw, too, when she finally tasted it. (Now you can find cole slaw anywhere in France.)

Obviously, I was thinking about this subject because I am on the verge of buying a cabbage and need to start thinking about how I will use it...

[onlyMark]

After too many years of over boiled school dinner cabbage I will now only eat it raw. White, red, whatever, but has to be raw.
I will often just cut a slice and put it on a side plate with a meal.

[Deleted]

Oddly enough, I cannot recall cabbage ever having been served cooked at any of my American schools. But we definitely had cole slaw.

[mossie]

While preparing cabbage for cooking I always cut out and eat raw some of the nice crunchy ribs from the leaves. The rest is boiled for a couple of minutes or so and quickly drained and served.

[htmb]

I like cabbage prepared in different types of Asian dishes, and might eat it raw if prepared with some type of light vinaigrette, but I would rather starve than eat coleslaw. I've observed it served to others enough over the years with its runny/watery dressing oozing into a puddle, but I won't touch it, particularly on a hot day when it looks even more germy to me. I would never eat school lunches either.

[Deleted]

I must admit that the commercial version of coleslaw sold in France is the pretty disgusting runny version (and so full of sugar!) described by htmb, because they have observed the 'authentic' American version and copied it. However, I make coleslaw from time to time with just a vinaigrette and no mayonnaise at all, so it is not runny or gooey. Basically, I grate cabbage, carrots and onions and then just season them, so the coleslaw authorities might fine me for my version.

[htmb]

Yes, you would be fined. Your recipe would definitely not be classified as coleslaw.

[Deleted]

I googled "cole slaw recipe" and the first reply is from www.foodnetwork.com which gives this extremely simple recipe:

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and carrots. In a smaller bowl, make dressing by combining mayonnaise, vinegar, celery seed, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss dressing into cabbage mixture and let chill. Serve in a family style bowl.

Okay, so I will be shot if I don't use mayonnaise. And I am wondering about the penalty if you don't use a "family style bowl."

[htmb]

You might be barred from your birth state for life.

[lagatta]

I use lemon, or rice vinegar, some olive oil (or other good oil: we get cold-pressed sunflower oil here that actually tastes like sunflower seeds, for example) bit of salt or sometimes tamari. Never mayonnaise or sugar (though there is a small amount of sugar in the rice vinegar).

It is lightly marinated in Asian versions, and the Central American curtido is blanched by pouring boiling water over the cabbage, and often slightly fermented.

What the hell is a "family-style bowl"?

My favourite cabbage for a cabbage salad is the delicate flat "Korean" kind.

As for cooking it, either wedges in a stew, cooked in soup or an ingredient in many stir-fries.

[bjd]

I like cabbage. I often add it to vegetable soups, among the other ingredients. I occasionally make some cold in a salad, but seeing the above recipes, I realize I can't call it coleslaw even though it's cut in thin slices.

I have also eaten warm red cabbage cooked to a Swedish or German recipe and it was very good.

[htmb]

In the wedding world there are typically two types of reception dining styles: buffet and sit-down. Sit down usually involves a wait staff who individually serve plated meals to guests, while buffet involves a long table adorned with platters and chafing dishes from which guests serve themselves.

Recently, we booked a few weddings that featured family-style dining. This is an approach where food is brought to the tables in serving bowls or on platters and the diners serve themselves. We’re not sure if family-style dining is a growing trend for wedding receptions, but if you’re considering it for your wedding, here are a few considerations to keep in mind.

www.lakesregiontent.com/website/2013/01/family-style-dining-at-weddings/

[lagatta]

Interesting. The casual small weddings we organised (as friends, not as professionals, though I have professional experience in other aspects of event organising) were sort of a mix of buffet and family style - some things were passed, others people got up to serve themselves. This was even in a dwelling or a small rented hall.

Indeed, I can see safety concerns if very young, very old or slightly disabled (or even clumsy) diners have to handle a heavy platter or serving bowl. You would probably need some help, paid or guests who are used to handling those. Many people do have kitchen and serving experience working in restaurants or hotels, in the military, in camps etc.

[htmb]

In the U.S. if you go to a restaurant that serves "family style" you can expect to sit at a big table with strangers unless your group is large enough to fill up a table. Typically, bowls and platters of food are placed on the table to be shared around, and you can ask for refills of "favorites." Obviously there is a set menu and a set fee. They do not provide "to go" containers, but you can get your fill while at the table. Think of it as a home dinner used to be when you were a child.

So, if coleslaw is your thing, you can feast on the runny, limp, stuff.

[lagatta]

You forgot "sickly-sweet"...

I've never been to a "family-style" restaurant of that type. Some restaurants we go to are very much family-oriented, including a Peruvian one with home-cooking type food and children running about, but each party has their own table, or more than one pushed together.

[Deleted]

I remember a grand total of one meal I had in a place like that, and it marked me forever because I remember that it was in Lone Pine, California. My family had been on the road all day, and I think it was about the only place to eat or sleep in town.

[htmb]

Not my choice either, Kerouac. My first experience was in Dahlonega, Georgia, at a restored inn where they served "southern style" dishes such as fried chicken, okra, mashed potatoes, squash, etc. I really didn't care to eat enough to get my "money's worth," and I did not like the fact of eating with, and having to talk to, strangers not of my choosing.

A very good experience, on the other hand, was had at the Dillard House in northeastern Georgia, near the Chattooga River (think the film Deliverance) where a large group of us stayed before and after rafting down the most challenging section of the river. We were a large group, could sit and eat together "family style" and there was plenty of food of all types to satisfy our big appetites (due to the paddling). I'm sure there was coleslaw, but I didn't eat any.

[Deleted]

Yes, in Lone Pine anybody who didn't like fried chicken would have starved to death.

[htmb]

At lunch today one of my friends ordered a side of coleslaw that looked very fresh and light. I forgot to ask him if it was good.

[lagatta]

I made a variation on this:

www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/05/quick-curtido-mexican-cabbage-slaw-recipe.html

Not a real curtido, but just slightly marinated cabbage and carrots, making them a bit easier to chew and digest. I have made more authentic curtido as well (the version I had was from Salvador).

I did leave this longer than the recipe stated, though. And of course the "cold" was on my back balcony, not my fridge. Don't want to kill my little fridge.

[htmb]

"Can be stored for up to a month" ?

[lagatta]

I'm not responsible for that. I think the small quantity I made will be eaten tomorrow evening.

No, it can't; that is ludicrous. Even prepared red cabbage doesn't keep for a month in the fridge. I froze what I couldn't eat within a week.

[Deleted]

Actually, I would assume that cabbage that ferments properly could be eaten a month later, such as sauerkraut or kimchi. But I would not try this as an amateur.

Meanwhile, after dithering quite bit over heads of cabbage these last several days and thinking that there was a big risk that I would get tired of it before eating even half of it (that would be a loss of maybe 0.70€ but that's not the point), I ended up buying a relatively small Chinese cabbage today. It is much more versatile since it can even be disguised as lettuce in certain preparations.