Oktoberfest kicks off this Saturday, September 16th! Let's talk Cabbage + other recipes.

Cabbage is here for Oktoberfest and German cuisine embraces this healthy vegetable. Cabbage is loaded with Vitamin C, K and A as well as iron, riboflavin and fiber. It also has powerful antioxidants, polyphenols and important sulfur compounds. Cabbage is in the brassica vegetable family just like cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts to name a few. What do all of these vitamins and nutrients mean for your health? Cabbage keeps inflammation in check, helps lower your risk of certain cancers, improves digestion, keeps your heart healthy, and helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

So let’s talk about some delicious German recipes for this powerhouse of nutrition. Sauerkraut of course is the most popular way to eat cabbage. Sauerkraut is used in myriad ways: as a side dish, a topping, a filling in strudel, and a bed for ham dishes.

At Oktoberfest in particular, you’ll find both red and green cabbage in a variety of ways. Red cabbage is sliced and cooked with onions, apples red wine and vegetable broth. Then just before serving, cooked cranberries, lingonberries or red currants are stirred in. This dish is served as a side dish to duck, venison stew or sauerbraten.

Green cabbage is cooked into a dish called Bavarian Cabbage with onions, vegetable broth, caraway seeds and a little sugar and vinegar. This side dish is served with roast suckling pig or ham dishes instead of sauerkraut. Green cabbage is also made into a raw slaw, sometimes with carrots and sometimes by itself with caraway seeds.

There's also a very popular Creamy Savoy Cabbage dish served with a fried egg. In Bavaria, fried eggs are often called ox eyes! And these ox eyes turn this creamy cabbage into a main dish that is often served with Parslied Potatoes alongside it. Creamy Savoy Cabbage contains carrots, onions, caraway seeds, nutmeg and of course, cream. And a healthy sprinkle of paprika on top before serving. It also pairs well with beef roulades and venison stew.

Here are more Oktoberfest dishes and recipe links that the Doylestown Farmers Market will have the ingredients for: Potato Salad, Potato Dumplings, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel, Sauerkraut Strudel, Zwiebelkuchen (onion pie), Meat & Cheese Board with Soft Pretzels, Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes with bacon), Obatzda (beer cheese dip made with dark lager and Camembert served with rye bread or soft pretzels and veggies), Flammkuchen (white pizza with creme fraiche, onions and bacon), Potato Pancakes, Oktoberfest Roast Chicken, Bread Dumplings with Creamy Mushroom Stew, Sauerbraten, Beer Braised Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, Schweinshaxe (roasted pork knuckles with beer gravy), Beef Goulash with beer, Schnitzel, Apfelkuchle (apple ring fritters), Apple Strudel, Funnel Cake, Zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake), Candied Apples, Gingerbread Heart cookies.

Can’t make it to Germany this year? Take a peek at the LiveStream of this 2 week event HERE!

Prost! (cheers) Zum wohl! (To your health)