will be left intact. This isn’t always desirable:
cooking some mustard greens quickly, for
example, minimizes their hot pungency but
preserves the intense bitterness of their
pungency precursors. Boiling in a large excess
of water leaches flavor molecules out into the
water, and produces a milder flavor than does
stir-frying or steaming. If the cooking period
is prolonged, then the constant heat gradually
transforms the flavor molecules. Eventually
the sulfur compounds end up forming
trisulfides, which accumulate and are mainly
responsible for the strong and lingering smell
of overcooked cabbage. Prolonged cooking
makes members of the onion family more
sweet and mellow, but the cabbage family
gets more overbearing and unpleasant.
Food Words: Cabbage, Kale, Collards,
Cauliflower
Several vegetables in the cabbage family,
kale, collards, and cauliflower, have names