Kohl has once again become socially acceptable. For a long time condemned to the culinary substitute bench as a strong-smelling poor man's vegetable, cabbage is now very popular with young and old. Cabbage is rich in vitamins, low in calories and has a hearty taste. For three quarters of the cabbage in Germany, the cultivation is a home game with a correspondingly favorable CO2 balance. Get to know classic and modern types of cabbage from A-Z. These 50 types of cabbage speak German.
Types and varieties of cabbage from A - Z
cauliflower
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea convar. botrytis var. botrytis)
Cauliflower deserves a box seat in the vegetable patch. The mighty cabbage consists of small, white florets, separated by delicate leaves, surrounded by a strong, inedible stalk. Cauliflower is considered typically German because it was popularly planted in cottage gardens as early as the Middle Ages. Interesting for the home gardener is the property of forming the desired inflorescences in the first year, which end up on the plate as mild vegetables. The following selection names historical and modern premium varieties by name:
- Balak: best mid-early winter cauliflower variety
- Neckarperle: historic variety with pure white cabbage flowers and a long harvest time
- Erfurt dwarf: early maturing variety with a harvest time from July
- Graffiti: modern with bright purple heads and fine taste
- Autumn giants: classic with huge, white flowers
- Leceref: traditional cauliflower for summer cultivation
As a heavy feeder, cauliflower wants nutrient-rich, fresh to moist soil. A sunny, warm location promotes growth and crop yield.
Kale
Brown cabbage, Kraut cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. acephala var. sabellica)
Kale becomes a culinary highlight when it is harvested after the first frost. A long ripening period and freezing cold for at least one night are required for the starches in the rich green, curly leaves to convert into sugars. Anyone who likes to eat in a classic and sweet-aromatic way should therefore be patient until the popular winter vegetable is harvested. The hearty cabbage is traditionally served with potatoes, Kassler or bratwurst. But kale has long since arrived in the modern kitchen, so there are now kale chips or smoothies with kale. Kale is one of the species that are botanically closely related to wild cabbage and not a typical cabbage form. The delicious winter vegetable has been native to Germany since the 16th century, so home gardeners can choose from a wide range of varieties, as the following list documents:
- Altmark brown cabbage: green-brown-purple kale, popular historical varieties
- Half-height green Krauser: classic with broad, heavily curled leaves
- Holter Palme: long-established, East Frisian landrace, newly discovered for cultivating kale
- Lark's Tongue: long, slender curled leaves, half-height and hardy with a long harvest time
- Low green Krauser: new in the selection of varieties for cultivation in tubs
- Scarlet: palm-like, dark green, later deep red leaves, modern and trendy
- Spring kale, East Frisian palm: a popular variety with dark green, coarse-feathered leaves
The heavily consuming cabbage prefers a sunny to semi-shady location. A nutrient-rich, humus-rich and calcareous soil with a pH value of 5.5 to 7.5 offers the perfect framework conditions.
Kohlrabi
Turnip (Brassica oleraceae var. gongylodes)
At first glance, kohlrabi cannot be identified as a cabbage vegetable, because the round tuber has little in common with typical cabbage. In fact, neither flowers nor leaves are suitable for consumption. It is the above-ground, thickened main stalk to which we owe the tenderly melting taste of kohlrabi vegetables. In southern Germany, the name turnip is therefore commonplace. However, the color is not limited to classic white. Because depending on the variety, kohlrabi is finding its way onto the menu in light green, violet or blue-red:
- Blaro: bluish, modern and bolt-resistant
- Blauer Speck: historical rarity rediscovered for private cultivation
- Express Forcer: sounds international, but is German, fast-growing and ready for harvest from August
- Lanro: premium variety for cultivation in greenhouses and under plastic from February
- Olivia: light green to white organic kohlrabi with the best properties for the natural home garden
- Super melt: popular, white classic with a melt-in-the-mouth taste
Home gardeners reserve a sunny, not too hot location for kohlrabi in the vegetable patch. The cabbage species thrives as a medium feeder in any good garden soil. Regular fertilizing with compost and horn shavings optimizes crop yields.
Brussels sprouts
Sprouted cabbage (Brassica oleraceae var. gemmifera)
Brussels sprouts are relatively new for a cabbage vegetable, as the first varieties were cultivated less than 100 years ago. The delicious florets thrive on long stems and are harvested individually by hand. Incidentally, this cabbage is one of those species that need temperatures around freezing point in order to develop their unmistakable taste. For the perfect preparation, the tiny cabbage heads are briefly blanched in salt water, because the florets should be served al dente. The following varieties are native and popular:
- Blue sprout cabbage: old-established variety with blue-violet florets
- Crispus: early maturing, bolt resistant, resistant to cabbage hernia
- Diabolo: Hotshot among the Brussels sprouts with a harvest time from September to February
- Groninger: strong-growing sprout cabbage for harvest at the beginning of winter
- Hild's ideal: large, firm florets, ready to harvest before the first frost
- Nelson: firm, high-sugar variety for a September-October harvest
- Roodnerf: late variety for winter harvest
Brussels sprouts find the ideal site conditions in a sunny location with loamy garden soil. A pH value of 6.0 to 7.5 and an airy planting distance of 45 to 60 centimeters promote vitality and prevent diseases. Important to note for the cultivation of Brussels sprouts and all other types of cabbage is a crop rotation to prevent cabbage hernia.
Red cabbage
Red cabbage, red cabbage, blue cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. rubra)
The red-headed icon among the local vegetables is one of the popular winter vegetables. Only with red cabbage are hearty meat dishes such as roast goose, game goulash or sauerbraten a culinary treat. The home gardener has therefore reserved a regular place in the kitchen garden for the little brother of the white cabbage. The blue-violet leaves taste good boiled, cooked, steamed or just as fresh as a salad. Red cabbage has been native to Germany since the earliest beginnings of vegetable cultivation. The following selection of varieties may help you in your search for your personal favorite red cabbage:
- Amaranth: early maturing, medium-sized variety, ready for harvest from mid-June
- Garnet: fast-growing, classic, proven variety, ideal for regions with a short vegetation period
- Autumn red: traditional red cabbage from the farm and monastery gardens of the Middle Ages
- Marner Lagerrot: old-established red cabbage with an excellent shelf life
- Tinty: modern variety with pointed, red heads and 300 to 1000 grams, ideal for the small garden
Red cabbage develops at its best in a sunny spot in the vegetable garden with fresh soil. Ideally, the bed is enriched with compost or green manure in the autumn of the previous year in order to offer the heavy feeder the best starting conditions.
white cabbage
White cabbage, cap (Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. alba)
White cabbage is mainly used to make sauerkraut and is the basic ingredient in our national dish, “Eisbein mit Sauerkraut”. Since the 12th century, sauerkraut has proven to be tastier vitamin supplier useful and can still be found on all menus for home cooking. Freshly prepared, white cabbage also invigorates the senses as a salad or vegetable. The huge cultivation areas in Northern Germany, where almost 80 million heads of cabbage (white cabbage, red cabbage and savoy cabbage) are harvested every year, testify to its popularity.
It thrives in the fertile Fildern plain near Stuttgart cabbage, the finer variant of white cabbage with more tender leaves and an equally mild taste. Well-known white cabbage and pointed cabbage varieties are presented in the following list:
- Brunswijyker: popular autumn white cabbage, flat-topped heads, best processing quality
- Dithmarscher white cabbage: earliest variety, firm, juicy green heads
- Filderkraut: Swabian specialty, ideal for preparing cabbage rolls
- Marner Lagerweiss: proven white cabbage variety that stays green for a long time
- Premstättner cut: Lover's varieties from the Noah's Ark seed archive, round, firm head
In the vegetable garden, white cabbage thrives in all its glory in a sunny spot with nutritious, fresh, moist soil. Organic fertilizer, such as compost or bark humus, completely covers the high nutrient requirement. Spraying the soil with nettle manure also effectively prevents an infestation by cabbage whites. White cabbage is one of the types of cabbage that are less susceptible to the dreaded clubroot.
savoy
(Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. sabauda)
Savoy belongs to head cabbage, the Vegetable of the Year 2006, and is closely related to white cabbage and red cabbage. House gardeners with a soft spot for nature-loving, regionally influenced home cooking integrate the cabbage triumvirate into the planting plan for the vegetable garden. Savoy cabbage is already an ornament in the bed with its loose, round and decoratively curled heads. Cabbage lovers have the choice of stately autumn and winter varieties with a distinctive cabbage taste, which can be used to conjure up spicy stews and stews. Friends of mild, delicate cuisine, however, tend to opt for early, light green savoy cabbage varieties.
- Alaska: Top variety with medium-sized heads, best winter savoy for private cultivation
- Goldvital: yellow-green, tender butter cabbage, long harvesting window from July to October
- Result: classic, medium-sized, fresh green to dark green, improvement on the old-established Bamberger Savoy cabbage
- Harbinger 3: the very earliest Savoy cabbage variety, can be sown at the end of March and harvested from July
- Vertus 2: Top variety for savory Savoy cabbage enjoyment with a harvest time from September
- Westländer: Organic variety for late harvest from September until well into winter
- Wirosa F1: tried and tested in private and commercial savoy cultivation, dark green, finely curled heads of cabbage
House gardeners bring in a rich savoy cabbage harvest when the cabbage is settled in a sunny, nutrient-rich location. A preculture with onions and leeks naturally prevents infection with clubroot.
wild cabbage
Vegetable Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
The progenitor of native cabbage species should not be missing in this selection. In Germany, wild cabbage is only native to Helgoland, because the primitive cabbage vegetable favors an oceanic coastal climate. His middle name rock cabbage refers to this location preference. The cultivated forms of wild cabbage are suitable for the human palate, the German varieties of which can also be found in this list. The cultivation of the pure wild species is particularly interesting for home gardeners who keep small animals. Fodder cabbage, also known as Westphalian furrow cabbage, thrives as a hardy and leafy fodder plant. Thanks to a robust frost hardiness of up to -15 °C, tall-stemmed wild cabbage can be picked throughout the winter.
