Raw red cabbage contains an antinutrient enzyme that splits the thiamin molecule
so that the vitamin is no longer nutritionally useful. This thiamin inhibitor is inactivated
by cooking.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Raw or lightly steamed to protect the vitamin C.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Antiflatulence diet
Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Cabbages that feel heavy for their size. The leaves should be tightly closed and
attached tightly at the stem end. The outer leaves on a savoy cabbage may curl back from the
head, but the center leaves should still be relatively tightly closed.
Also look for green cabbages that still have their dark-green, vitamin-rich outer leaves.
Avoid: Green and savoy cabbage with yellow or wilted leaves. The yellow carotene pig-
ments show through only when the cabbage has aged and its green chlorophyll pigments
have faded. Wilted leaves mean a loss of moisture and vitamins.
Storing This Food
Handle cabbage gently; bruising tears cells and activates ascorbic acid oxidase, an enzyme in
the leaves that hastens the destruction of vitamin C.
Store cabbage in a cool, dark place, preferably a refrigerator. In cold storage, cabbage
can retain as much as 75 percent of its vitamin C for as long as six months. Cover the cabbage
to keep it from drying out and losing vitamin A.
Preparing This Food
Do not slice the cabbage until you are ready to use it; slicing tears cabbage cells and releases
the enzyme that hastens the oxidation and destruction of vitamin C.
If you plan to serve cooked green or red cabbage in wedges, don’t cut out the inner core
that hold the leaves together.
To separate the leaves for stuffing, immerse the entire head in boiling water for a few
minutes, then lift it out and let it drain until it is cool enough to handle comfortably. The leaves
should pull away easily. If not, put the cabbage back into the hot water for a few minutes.
Cabbage