Red Cabbage
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 Red Cabbage plants
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Brassica oleracea Capitata Group |
The Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra) is a sort of cabbage, also known as Red Kraut or Blue Kraut after preparation. Its leaves are coloured dark red/purple. However, the plant changes its colour according to the pH value of the soil, due to a pigment called anthocyanin. On acidic soils, the leaves grow more reddish while an alkaline soil will produce rather greenish-yellow coloured cabbages. This explains the fact that the very same plant is known by different colours in various regions. Furthermore, the juice of red cabbage can be used as a home-made pH indicator, turning red in acid and blue in basic solutions; it is for this reason that some[who?] have claimed that red cabbage is perhaps[weasel words] the vegetable most responsible for many scientific advances and the technology that we enjoy today.
On cooking, red cabbage will normally turn blue. To retain the red colour it is necessary to add vinegar or acidic fruit to the pot.
Red Cabbage needs well fertilized soil and sufficient humidity to grow. It is a seasonal plant which is seeded in spring and harvested in late fall. Red Cabbage is a better keeper than its "white" relatives and does not need to be converted to sauerkraut to last the winter.
[edit] Uses
Red cabbage is often used for salads and cole slaw. This vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked. It is also used to determine if a substance is an acid or a base by boiling it in water and using the water as a pH indicator.
[edit] Cultivation
It is recommended to start Red Cabbage seeds indoors 4 weeks before the last frost. Sow in containers that allow for movement of water through the bottom of a cell. Popular seedling starting containers are peat pots, egg cartons, plug trays or milk cartons. Once the seedlings grow to about 2 inches tall, and have developed their first leaves, they can be hardened off and moved outside for transplanting. Red cabbage prefers climates that remain moist and cool for most of its vegetative growth stage, so they can be placed in the ground shortly after the last frost, while the spring is still cool. The cabbage plants can be spaced about 12-26 inches from one another. They will need watering often but are otherwise low maintenance plants.
