IngredientsVegetables
Weißkohlwhite cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba. A tightly packed head of smooth leaves, pale to blue green outside and white inside.
It is the workhorse of a fest kitchen: shredded and salted it becomes sauerkraut, braised with bacon and caraway it becomes Bayrisch Kraut, dressed raw it becomes Krautsalat. Then cabbage rolls and stews.
Geschmacktaste
Sharp and cabbagey raw, sweetish once braised. That sweetness comes from long cooking, not from the sugar jar.
Caraway belongs with it, and not only for flavour: it makes the cabbage easier to digest. If you dislike biting on the seed, cook it whole and fish it out.
In Mexikoin Mexico
Col blanca, also called repollo. Both names mean the same head. Every mercado has it, all year.
No substitute needed. The Mexican head is often a little looser than the German one, which changes the result very little.
Kaufenbuying
For sauerkraut take a heavy, tightly packed head. The firmer it is, the more juice the salt draws out and the more surely the kraut stays under its own brine.
For salad and braising a looser head is fine. Always cut the core out in a wedge, otherwise it stays hard.