Cabbage — season, tips, and recipes in New Zealand
Cabbage is a vegetables available in New Zealand during January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, peaking in May, June, July, August. This page is a practical guide for home cooks: when to buy cabbage, how to pick a good one, how to store it, what it goes well with, three original recipes, and detailed nutrition information.
Absurdly good value when in season. Red makes excellent sauerkraut or braised with apple.
How to pick a good one
Heavy for size, tight crisp leaves. Red = deeply coloured. Savoy has crinkly leaves, milder flavour.
How to store it
Fridge up to two weeks. Once cut, wrap tightly. One of the longest-lasting vegetables.
Goes well with
caraway: Caraway and cabbage is a Central and Eastern European combination that appears in sauerkraut, colcannon, and braised cabbage across multiple cuisines. The seed's anise-adjacent warmth complements cabbage's slightly sulphurous edge.
apple: Apple's acidity and sweetness contrasts with cabbage's slight bitterness. Red cabbage braised with apple is a classic pairing that moderates both ingredients' extremes.
vinegar: Acid transforms cabbage from something slightly sulphurous into something clean and bright. Sauerkraut, coleslaw, and pickled cabbage exist because vinegar solves a structural flavour problem.
juniper: Juniper's resinous, gin-like flavour sits against cabbage's earthiness in a way that's distinctly northern European. Used in braised red cabbage with juniper and wine.
Recipes
Classic Coleslaw
Crunchy, creamy, goes with everything.
Ingredients: quarter cabbage, 2 carrots, 3 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, salt
Method: Finely shred cabbage and grate carrots. Mix mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt. Toss. Rest 15 min before serving.
Braised Red Cabbage with Apple
Sweet, sour, winter perfect.
Ingredients: half red cabbage, 2 apples, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, pinch cinnamon, pinch cloves
Method: Finely shred cabbage. Core and dice apples. Cook everything together in butter, covered, on low heat for 40 min, stirring occasionally.
Asian Cabbage Salad
Crunchy, sesame, makes-ahead well.
Ingredients: quarter cabbage, 2 spring onions, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sesame seeds, handful coriander
Method: Finely shred cabbage. Slice spring onions. Dress with soy, vinegar, sesame oil. Top with seeds and coriander.
Nutrition
One cup of raw cabbage provides 54% of your daily vitamin C and 85% of your vitamin K. Contains glucosinolates, compounds that break down into isothiocyanates during digestion, some of the most studied anti-cancer compounds in food science. Only 22 calories per cup. Red cabbage has 6-8x more antioxidants than green.