Variety of Cabbage for Cabbage Rolls?

[Sylvie]

I love cabbage rolls and have found that not all caggage lends itself to these. I want to order seeds but not sure which variety of cabbage to plant. Cabbage purchased in groceries seems too tight with significant tearing while trying to separate leaves. Any Hungarians out there who could suggest the best varieties to plant?

 

[vfem]

I grow the jersey, but I also grow the chinese. I like the softness of the chinese, it rolls very easily after you get it limp in some boiling water. Only take a few moments, not as long as the hardy stuff takes.

Careful though, you go too long and it tears.

The taste is different, but I like it. I think its milder!

 

[Sylvie]

Thanks, I may give the Chinese cabbage a try, but do prefer a strong tasting cabbage because I make half the batch of rolls conventionally and the other half meatless which beg for more flavor.
I am considering late flat dutch because it would give provide cabbage all winter, but am not familiar with its tightness density.

 

[digitS']

Hi Sylvie!

I'm not Hungarian but I used to make a lot of cabbage rolls. It didn't seem I had too many options. I was growing so much food and yet, cabbage was about the only green veggies I could keep in my simple basement storage.

Back in those days, I grew Copenhagen Market cabbage. It seemed like a good compromise between early and late. It also worked fine for cabbage rolls. More recently, I've been growing both early and late Flat Dutch. DW doesn't like the ones she describes as "hard as your head" looking askance at me . . . She seems happy with those choices and she uses them for cabbage rolls.

Steve

 

[MontyJ]

I like the copenhagen and flat dutch varieties myself. I prefer the tougher cabbages for cabbage rolls. But then, I love hardy cooked cabbage.

 

[Sylvie]

Hi Steve, thanks to you and your wife!
Hi Monty, thank you. We think alike!
This is exactly what I needed to know.
I am ordering Copenhagen Market and late flat dutch today.

Also I'm planting a couple red cabbages for litmus testing experiments that I learned in my recent college chemistry class. Cabbage is amazing!

 

[so lucky]

OK, I snoozed through my chemistry class. Can you 'splain about the litmus testing using red cabbage?

 

[MontyJ]

If you want some gigantic cabbage rolls, try planting megeton cabbage. They have awesome flavor no matter how big they get. The leaves do have very large ribs though, but they hold up to cooking very well. You won't believe how big they get. This is DW posing with three I grew.

 

[so lucky]

Holy cow!

 

[hoodat]

Try coring the cabbage first. That loosens up the leaves. Using a sharp knife with a narrow blade (like a boning knife) turn the head upside down and cut around the core. Pull out the core and the whole head loosens up. Pull the leaves off from the end with the heavy rib. If you try from the other end the leaf will tear.