If you’ve been online lately, you may have seen 2026 declared as the year of the cabbage, but foodies and farmers market goers know that cabbage never really needed to be trending.
Long before social media anointed the humble, layered globe as the vegetable of the moment, communities across the world relied on cabbage as a winter staple and a nourishing crop that has carried families through the coldest months of the year.
For centuries, cabbage has been one of the great survival foods of temperate climates. Hardy, dense, and naturally long-storing, whole heads can last for months in cool cellars. Even more importantly, when shredded and salted, cabbage became a cornerstone of fermentation traditions. Sailors and northern European populations relied on fermented cabbage as a crucial source of vitamin C during winter months, helping prevent scurvy when fresh produce was scarce. Long before modern nutrition science, people understood that fermented cabbage kept them healthy…