Brassica season is upon us in Southern California!
While baby mustards and kales make a delightful summer crop here, fall brings about perfect weather for cabbages and cruciferous veggies to flourish in Orange County, CA. As soon as summer harvests have run their course, and the last tomato has been sauced, the nights come earlier, the mornings are crisper, and cabbages can take center stage. This young purple cabbage has only its true purpley color showing through in the veins now, but it will produce a full head of densely packed purple leafy goodness in mid January of next year.
Why Purple? Purple cabbage are not only beautiful, they’re deliciously healthy! Anthocyanin provides both a purple hue and a whole slue of health benefits, including “antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-obesity effects, as well as prevention of cardiovascular diseases“. Similar in flavor to other cabbages, the red and purple varieties tend to be denser and thus have a longer maturation period than their viridescent counterparts, allowing one afternoon of fall planting to produce multiple cabbage harvests through the winter.
Cooking Tip: The compound which gives theses cabbages a rich purple color can shift to a vibrant blue tone when cooked along with alkaline substances. If you’re hoping to preserve the fuchsia-y notes in cooking with any alkaline substances (that often includes spring or tap water), you can save it by adding a spoonful of acid to your prep. Citrus juice and white wine work lovely!