Why is a head of cabbage green, yet it appears white when chopped for cole slaw?
Cole slaw can be purchased as either a dry mix of chopped cabbage (and perhaps other veggies), or dressed and ready-to-eat. In either form, the cabbage appears white. Yet a full head of cabbage appears green. Why is there a color difference?
Best Answer
There is a transition in color between the outer cabbage leaves and the inner ones. A few on the outside are green, but they become significantly paler as you move towards the inside of the cabbage (see cross-section at right below). Also, the outermost leaves may be removed and discarded before the cabbage is processed (they're most likely to have dirt, blemishes, insects, etc. from growing outside).
Since most of the cabbage's volume is in the inner white leaves, the majority of chopped or sliced cabbage will look white. (Adding white dressing in a coleslaw will lighten things up even more, masking pale green leaf shreds.)
There are also varieties of cabbage that are whiter than others (e.g. white cabbage), which will appear even paler. But even red cabbage has some white on the inside!
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Why is my cabbage all white?
White (Dutch) Cabbage The sun usually turns the outer leaves pale green leaving white, tightly packed leaves in the center. Another reason why some cabbages look white is due to storing then through the winter.Is cabbage supposed to be white?
They can vary in colour from very white to mid green, although the inner leaves are usually pale. This vegetable is a member of the brassica\u2014or cabbage\u2014family, also known as a cruciferous vegetable.How do you chop cabbage for coleslaw?
Not all cabbage is the same, and reaching for the right type based on how you want to eat it can result in a far superior end result. Green is the heartiest variety; it takes well to all cooking methods. Red can turn a funny blue color when cooked, so it's best used raw.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Lukas, Lukas, Ron Lach, Karolina Grabowska