Cabbages with Onions

[James B White]

This is called cabbages with onions, though it makes what I'd call little cabbage cakes. It's from the 1839 Kentucky Housewife.

Cabbages with Onions.
Boil them separately till they are very soft; then mix them in equal proportions, mash them very fine, season the pulp with salt and pepper, moistening it with sweet cream; make it into small cakes, dust them with flour, and fry them a light brown in butter; serve them warm, stir into the butter a spoonful of flour and a glass of sweet cream, boil it up and pour it over the cakes.

So you need an equal quantity of boiled cabbage and boiled onions. You can boil them just for this, or use leftovers. They do need to be boiled very soft, because mashing fine won't work with harder lumps.

I never needed to moisten the mixture with anything. In fact, the challenge was to squeeze enough moisture out of the mixture to make it into cakes. Was I boiling it too soft? Are modern vegetables moister from being fresher or stored in optimum conditions? Anyway, squeeze and drain it well, add the salt and pepper, pull out a handful at a time, squeeze it again into a cake, dust it with flour, and set the cakes aside on a plate, waiting to be fried.

Butter burns easily, so be careful heating it to frying temperature. Put the cakes in the hot butter--may take a few batches and more butter added--and fry them light brown as indicated. At the end, dissolve a spoonful of flour in a glass of cool cream to minimize lumps, then pour it into the leftover butter and stir it constantly until it comes to a boil, at which point it should thicken from the flour and become a nice cream sauce.

The cakes and sauce are absolutely delicious, in my opinion. The Virginia Housewife has a similar but vaguer recipe, suggesting stewing as an option also. But it doesn't show up all over in the period as a recipe, and I'm surprised, because did I mention I think it's absolutely delicious?

Cabbages haven't changed significantly from heirloom varieties, nor have the usual midsize yellow onions changed much from the popular Danvers onion of the period, though other colors were available. One can peruse a description of Danvers and other onions and cabbage varieties in Fearing Burr at the hyperlinked words.

I discussed butter in the Scalloped Tomatoes post. This recipe calls for sweet cream, so avoid sour cream, but the little cartons of cream I can find at the store are not only pasteurized but all seem to be thickened with carrageenan and may have other minor ingredients added. Still, the stuff called "whipping cream" or "heavy cream" seems to taste and perform similarly enough to true cream skimmed as soon as it rises, despite however they make it.

 

[MRB1863]

Interesting use for cabbage and onions! I would have never imagined to combine them into fried cakes!!!

 

[nitrofd]

This meal sounds like a lot of gas.

 

[Northern Light]

This is called cabbages with onions, though it makes what I'd call little cabbage cakes. It's from the 1839 Kentucky Housewife.

Cabbages with Onions.
Boil them separately till they are very soft; then mix them in equal proportions, mash them very fine, season the pulp with salt and pepper, moistening it with sweet cream; make it into small cakes, dust them with flour, and fry them a light brown in butter; serve them warm, stir into the butter a spoonful of flour and a glass of sweet cream, boil it up and pour it over the cakes.

So you need an equal quantity of boiled cabbage and boiled onions. You can boil them just for this, or use leftovers. They do need to be boiled very soft, because mashing fine won't work with harder lumps.

I never needed to moisten the mixture with anything. In fact, the challenge was to squeeze enough moisture out of the mixture to make it into cakes. Was I boiling it too soft? Are modern vegetables moister from being fresher or stored in optimum conditions? Anyway, squeeze and drain it well, add the salt and pepper, pull out a handful at a time, squeeze it again into a cake, dust it with flour, and set the cakes aside on a plate, waiting to be fried.

Butter burns easily, so be careful heating it to frying temperature. Put the cakes in the hot butter--may take a few batches and more butter added--and fry them light brown as indicated. At the end, dissolve a spoonful of flour in a glass of cool cream to minimize lumps, then pour it into the leftover butter and stir it constantly until it comes to a boil, at which point it should thicken from the flour and become a nice cream sauce.

The cakes and sauce are absolutely delicious, in my opinion. The Virginia Housewife has a similar but vaguer recipe, suggesting stewing as an option also. But it doesn't show up all over in the period as a recipe, and I'm surprised, because did I mention I think it's absolutely delicious?

Cabbages haven't changed significantly from heirloom varieties, nor have the usual midsize yellow onions changed much from the popular Danvers onion of the period, though other colors were available. One can peruse a description of Danvers and other onions and cabbage varieties in Fearing Burr at the hyperlinked words.

I discussed butter in the Scalloped Tomatoes post. This recipe calls for sweet cream, so avoid sour cream, but the little cartons of cream I can find at the store are not only pasteurized but all seem to be thickened with carrageenan and may have other minor ingredients added. Still, the stuff called "whipping cream" or "heavy cream" seems to taste and perform similarly enough to true cream skimmed as soon as it rises, despite however they make it.

You might try straining the cabbage and onions before mashing, or just boil until the liquid has just about evaporated.

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

My mom would love this recipe as she loves cabbage and onions. Thanks for posting it!

 

[Allie]

This is called cabbages with onions, though it makes what I'd call little cabbage cakes. It's from the 1839 Kentucky Housewife.

Cabbages with Onions.
Boil them separately till they are very soft; then mix them in equal proportions, mash them very fine, season the pulp with salt and pepper, moistening it with sweet cream; make it into small cakes, dust them with flour, and fry them a light brown in butter; serve them warm, stir into the butter a spoonful of flour and a glass of sweet cream, boil it up and pour it over the cakes.

So you need an equal quantity of boiled cabbage and boiled onions. You can boil them just for this, or use leftovers. They do need to be boiled very soft, because mashing fine won't work with harder lumps.

I never needed to moisten the mixture with anything. In fact, the challenge was to squeeze enough moisture out of the mixture to make it into cakes. Was I boiling it too soft? Are modern vegetables moister from being fresher or stored in optimum conditions? Anyway, squeeze and drain it well, add the salt and pepper, pull out a handful at a time, squeeze it again into a cake, dust it with flour, and set the cakes aside on a plate, waiting to be fried.

Butter burns easily, so be careful heating it to frying temperature. Put the cakes in the hot butter--may take a few batches and more butter added--and fry them light brown as indicated. At the end, dissolve a spoonful of flour in a glass of cool cream to minimize lumps, then pour it into the leftover butter and stir it constantly until it comes to a boil, at which point it should thicken from the flour and become a nice cream sauce.

The cakes and sauce are absolutely delicious, in my opinion. The Virginia Housewife has a similar but vaguer recipe, suggesting stewing as an option also. But it doesn't show up all over in the period as a recipe, and I'm surprised, because did I mention I think it's absolutely delicious?

Cabbages haven't changed significantly from heirloom varieties, nor have the usual midsize yellow onions changed much from the popular Danvers onion of the period, though other colors were available. One can peruse a description of Danvers and other onions and cabbage varieties in Fearing Burr at the hyperlinked words.

I discussed butter in the Scalloped Tomatoes post. This recipe calls for sweet cream, so avoid sour cream, but the little cartons of cream I can find at the store are not only pasteurized but all seem to be thickened with carrageenan and may have other minor ingredients added. Still, the stuff called "whipping cream" or "heavy cream" seems to taste and perform similarly enough to true cream skimmed as soon as it rises, despite however they make it.

I wonder how well this would work if I slow roasted rather than boiling the veggies. It seems like it might add an additional caramelized flavor plus reduce the moisture issue, and roasted cabbage and onions come out quite soft. I think I will try it that way and report back.