It's always been a 'Marmite' type vegetable with Brits especially during the festive season but now European favourite red cabbage has well and truly gate-crashed the UK Christmas dinner table.
Last year demand for the highly nutritious vegetable rocketed by 150 percent in Christmas week versus the previous year according to Tesco with sales already ramping up this December.
And the trend has meant extra income for UK growers, with one of the UK's biggest brassica growers, TH Clements, based near Boston, in Lincolnshire, who have increased growing volume by 20 per cent this year on last.
Red cabbage is a favourite Christmas dinner vegetable with celebrity chefs such as Mary Berry, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson featuring it in recipes.
The vegetable, which is related to broccoli, kale and sprouts, is packed with antioxidants, fibre and vitamins.
"Christmas dinner always used to be about the traditional centrepiece garnished with roast potatoes, carrots, sprouts and parsnips and maybe broccoli or cauliflower. The vegetable used to have a 'Marmite' type reputation which is probably linked to schoolkids being told to eat their cabbage which was often boiled to death.
"Two years ago, we noticed a slight rise in demand for red cabbage but last year sales really soared, so much so that we believe the vegetable has now become a mainstay of the festive feast.
"We've ordered in more this year as a result of the trend and also think that the delicious side dish may also become a staple with the traditional Sunday roast," commented Simon Tenwick, Tesco brassica buyer.
But there may also be another reason why the vegetable has suddenly become so popular.
In the past year Tesco has noticed rising demand for brightly coloured vegetables such as rainbow chard, rainbow carrots, purple sprouting broccoli, dark purple Cavolo Nero and pink onions.
Demand for rainbow chard and pink onions has been so strong this autumn that the supermarket has seen demand double compared to the same period a year ago.
And it believes the trend has also had an effect on the most celebrated meal of the year with red cabbage adding extra colour to the plate.
TH Clements say that red cabbage has become super trendy with foodies and anyone seeking a very nutritious and delicious side dish with their dinner. As a result of the trend, which picked up after lockdown, the company has sold 600,000 more cabbages than in 2023.
Red cabbage is very much the vegetable of the moment and to cater for the extra demand we've had to increase our planting programme by 20 per cent.
"Sales have always been steady and we've seen occasional spikes when the vegetable has featured in the recipes of TV chefs. But we've never seen such overwhelmingly strong demand for a single vegetable as we are seeing at the moment for red cabbage," said
John Moulding, TH Clements Commercial Director.
The vegetable is a mainstay of the European Christmas dinner especially in Germany, Denmark and Poland where it is served as a sweet and sour, slow cooked side dish, braised with apples, onions, raisins and spices such as cinnamons and cloves.
For more information:
www.tescoplc.com
