Guide to Cabbages (Choux) and Recipes

Cabbage Season and Fun Facts

In France, cabbages thrive from October to April, with red cabbage available a little longer: July to March.

This ancient superfood has graced tables since Roman times. It's inexpensive, quick to prepare, and wonderfully healthy when cooked gently.

Did you Know?

The Greeks once served raw red cabbage to newlyweds the morning after their wedding feast - a little ancient hangover cure to "restore fertility" after too much wine! Later, Catherine de Medici introduced cabbages to France in the 16th century, helping them take root in French cuisine.

Cabbage Varieties

Most French cabbages come from Brittany, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, and Rhône-Alpes. Although France ranks only 7th in Europe for production (EuroStat, 2016), cabbage lovers are everywhere - especially in Germany, Poland, and the UK.

Cabbage belongs to the Cruciferae or Brassica family, which also includes mustard plants such as colza, turnip, and radish.

There are two main types: Oleacera and Rapa.

• Oleacera includes the familiar white, red (chou cabus), Savoy, Milan or Pontoise (pommé sabauda), kale, and spring cabbage (sabellica).
  This group also covers flowering types such as cauliflower (botrytis), broccoli (cymosa), and Brussels sprouts (choux de Bruxelles, gemmifera).
• Rapa includes Chinese cabbages (chinensis), such as pak choï and pé-tsaï.

How to Prepare Cabbages - Top Tips

• Kale - soften its tough leaves by rubbing in olive oil for 3 minutes. Easier to eat raw but also delicious crisped in the air fryer.
• Red Cabbage - Keep its vibrant colour by splashing acidity of vinegar and or citrus (see below recipe as a prime example)
• Bok Choy - Steam gently to keep its high calcium content
• Brussels Sprouts - never boil them. Keep their nutrients and flavour by roasting them or cooking in the air fryer with a little oil and some caraway seeds
• Savoy Cabbage - best sautéd (see recipe below).

Savoy vs Regular Cabbage - What's Tastier?

To most French cooks, the Savoy cabbage reigns supreme. Market vendors often recommend it for its nutritional power: rich in vitamins K, C, folate, and B6 - and its ability to help the body recover after surgery or detox from anaesthetics.

With its crinkly, dark-green leaves and deeper flavour, Savoy cabbage brings life to any winter dish (see recipes below).

Chou-fleur also falls under the cabbage family
but it deserves its own cauliflower page.

What is Cabbage in French? Chou or Choux?

Although pronounced the same - shoo - the spelling changes:

• One cabbage = un chou
• Several cabbages = des choux

Don't confuse them with choux buns! Pâte à choux (choux pastry) is made from butter, water, milk, sugar, flour, and eggs - the base for éclairs, profiteroles, and even savoury versions.

Try these savoury choux buns with smoked salmon and horseradish-apple sauce.

French Expressions using Cabbages (Choux)

"Je suis dans les choux"

Literally, "I'm in the cabbages": it's a playful way to say I've messed up or I'm in trouble. The phrase sounds like échouer, which means "to fail."

Can You Really Call A Girl 'Mon Chou' in French?

Absolutely! The French use mon chou, mon petit chou, or mon chou chou as affectionate terms - just like "sweetie" or "darling."
So yes, you can call someone mon chou and still sound adorable.

French Cabbage Recipes

White cabbage (choux blancs) is mainly used to make the popular winter dish from Alsace, Choucroûte (Sauerkraut) and in salads.

Incidentally, on Alsace, see my food guide to Strasbourg.

Red cabbage is popular cooked slowly in vinegar and apples. It's a recipe cited as Choux Rouges à la Flamande, by Chef Auguste Escoffier in his Guide to Modern Cookery (1903) and more widely known as German red cabbage.

Squeeze in some orange at the end of cooking, or the juice of a couple of clementine oranges.

"Quarter the cabbages, suppress the outside leaves and the stumps, and cut the trimmed leaves into a fine julienne. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, sprinkle with vinegar and put this julienne into a well-buttered earthenware cocotte. Cover and cook in a moderate oven. When the cooking is 3-parts done, add 4 peeled and quartered apples and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar."

Chef Auguste Escoffier le Guide Culinaire (1903)

Sautéed Savoy cabbage - this recipe, cooked simply on the stove is our favourite way of serving it. It's suitable for vegans as with olive oil and with garlic and caraway seeds. Great served with pork dishes in particular, such as pork in honey sauce and this pork roast recipe with apples, Cidre and potatoes.

Thin slices of fresh cabbage are delicious added to pure vegetable soup towards the end of cooking. The fresher the veg, the better!