Storing cabbage: keeping white, red and savoy cabbage through winter

By late October the bed often holds more cabbage than a family eats in two weeks. That is exactly what storage cabbage is for. If you chose the right varieties in spring and sowed late, you now harvest heads that, stored properly, last into March. That is the old point of cabbage: a winter supply that simply sits and waits in the cool cellar, without electricity and without preserving.

Which cabbage belongs in storage, and which does not

Not every cabbage is a storage cabbage. The rule of thumb: the firmer the head and the later the harvest, the better it keeps. White cabbage and red cabbage from late storage varieties are the classics. Their heads are densely packed, the outer leaves leathery, and they lose water only slowly in the cellar.

Savoy cabbage is a special case. Its crinkled leaves are looser and dry out faster, but it is the most frost-hardy of the three. Better to leave it standing in the bed and harvest as needed than to store it for weeks.

Pointed cabbage, on the other hand, expressly does not belong in storage. Its tender, cone-shaped head is bred for quick use. In the cellar it turns limp and rotten within a few days. If you have pointed cabbage left over, use it fresh or blanch and freeze it.

Late sowings are the secret

Storage cabbage does not begin in autumn but in spring with the choice of variety. Brassica oleracea var. capitata, the botanical name for white and red cabbage, comes in early, mid and late types. Only the late storage varieties form the dense, heavy heads that survive winter.

These varieties are sown in April to May, planted out from May to June, and mature only in October. They need the long summer to build substance. An early sowing in March only pushes storage varieties into premature bolting, without forming firm heads. If you are unsure, look on the packet for terms like "storage cabbage", "keeper" or a maturity time of 150 days and more.

The right harvest time: CW 40 to 46

Harvest white and red cabbage when the heads are firm and mature, but before hard bare frost arrives. In most regions that is between early October and mid November, so CW 40 to 46. A light frost down to about minus 3 degrees does the firm heads no harm, on the contrary, it makes them milder. Only below that, with sustained frost under minus 5 degrees, do the outer leaves split and water enters the tissue, which later rots in storage.

Do the ripeness test by hand: a storable head feels hard and heavy and barely gives under thumb pressure. Soft, loose heads are not there yet or are not suited to storage. Harvest on a dry day, once the dew has lifted. Wet heads bring moisture into the store and start to mould faster.

Harvesting with the root keeps it longer

The most important trick for long storage: harvest the cabbage with as much stalk as possible and, if you want to hang it, with the whole root. The stalk keeps feeding the head for a while and delays wilting. Cut heads lose water faster and turn rubbery.

1. Lift the whole plant

   Push a spade in beside the plant and lift it out of the ground with the root. For shelf storage in the cellar a long stalk cut close under the head is enough.

2. Leave the outer leaves on

   Remove only loose, yellow or damaged wrapper leaves. The firm green cover leaves stay on, they protect the head like a wrapping against drying out.

3. Knock off soil, do not wash

   Knock coarse soil off the root. Do not wash. Moisture is the enemy in storage. The head should go into the store dry and with its wax layer intact.

4. Check for damage

   Sort out gnawed, cracked or rotten heads. Only flawless produce goes into storage, one rotten head infects its neighbours.

5. Store cool and humid

   Bring the heads into a cool room at 0 to 4 degrees and high humidity. Hang them by the root or stack them loosely on an airy shelf.

Savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. sabauda) is the exception. Instead of harvesting and storing it, you leave it standing. It withstands frost down to about minus 10 degrees, and the cold converts starch into sugar so it tastes milder and nuttier. As long as the ground is not frozen solid, you cut fresh heads as needed. Only when persistent frost threatens do you cover the row with leaves or fleece.

The right store: cool, dark, humid

Cabbage likes it cold and humid, but not wet. Ideal is 0 to 4 degrees and humidity around 90 percent. An old, unheated natural cellar with an earth floor is perfect. In a modern, dry boiler-room cellar cabbage quickly goes limp; there it helps to bed the heads in damp sand or newspaper.

Proven storage methods for the home garden:

• Hanging by the root: hang the whole plant upside down on a line or hook. That way every head gets air from all sides and rots the slowest.
• Shelf with spacing: lay the heads loosely side by side, stalk up, so they do not touch. Check every two weeks.
• Earth clamp in the garden: for larger amounts, dig a shallow pit, lay in the cabbage, cover with straw and soil. An old method without a cellar that keeps it frost-free.

Sauerkraut: making the surplus keep

When the store is full or the heads have small flaws, the surplus becomes sauerkraut. It is the most durable form of cabbage preserving and needs just two ingredients: white cabbage and salt. Lactic fermentation makes the cabbage keep for months and, on top of that, more digestible and richer in vitamins.

For a batch, shred the cabbage finely and weigh it. For one kilogram of cabbage you need about 20 grams of salt. Knead and pound firmly until the cabbage releases its juice, then pack it tightly into a jar or crock. The cabbage must be completely covered by its own brine, otherwise it moulds. A weight holds it down. Fermentation starts at room temperature, and after four to six weeks in a cool spot the kraut is ready.

Common storage mistakes

Most storage losses have simple causes. Harvested too early, the heads are not firm enough and wilt quickly. Harvested too late, hard frost has damaged the outer leaves and rot eats its way inward. Washed or wet heads mould because the protective wax layer is missing. And whoever does not check the store notices too late that one rotten head has taken half the batch with it.

With the right variety, a late sowing and a cool, humid store, you pull a winter supply from a few square metres of bed that lasts into spring. And what does not fit into storage becomes sauerkraut. So nothing is left of the autumn cabbage, except a full cellar.