# Red cabbage

**Red cabbage** (*Brassica oleracea* var. *capitata* f. *rubra*) is a form of head cabbage grown for its smooth, purple leaves, eaten as a vegetable of the same name.<sup>[1](https://consultation.vocabulaires-ouverts.inrae.fr/thesaurus-inrae/en/page/c_23516?clang=en)</sup> It belongs to the same species and variety group as white cabbage (*f. alba*), differing chiefly in its anthocyanin pigments, which give the leaves their color and make the plant a natural wide-range pH indicator.<sup>[2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35174750/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd%3A15790904?crl=c&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A15790904&jrnl=00319317&sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Acrawler-gcd)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | *Brassica oleracea* var. *capitata* f. *rubra*, a head cabbage with smooth, purple leaves<sup>[1](https://consultation.vocabulaires-ouverts.inrae.fr/thesaurus-inrae/en/page/c_23516?clang=en)</sup> |
| Pigment content | Anthocyanins ranged from 1111 to 1780 mg Cy3G/100 g dry matter across seven cultivars, and did not increase with maturity<sup>[4](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf501991q)</sup> |
| pH color range | Red below pH 2, purple/blue at pH 2–4, colorless near neutral, green-yellow above pH 7<sup>[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025686/)</sup> |
| Nutrient comparison | Higher vitamin C (24.38 mg/100 g), dl-α-tocopherol (0.261 mg/100 g), and phenolics (101.30 mg/100 g) than white and savoy cabbage<sup>[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423806000483)</sup> |
| Glucosinolates | Significantly more glucoraphanin and gluconasturtiin than white cabbage; no significant difference in glucobrassicin<sup>[7](https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.867.6)</sup> |
| Food-colorant use | Extracts at pH 3.5 matched FD&C Red No. 3 (λmax = 520 nm, ΔE = 6.1–8.8); at pH 7, second-harvest extracts gave λmax ≈ 610 nm, similar to FD&C Blue No. 2<sup>[4](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf501991q)</sup> |
| Recorded history | 'Red Cabbage' was on the menu by 1658 in England<sup>[8](https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/profiles/AB/Brassicaoleracea)</sup> |

## Botany and history

Red cabbage is one of the headed forms of *Brassica oleracea*, a species domesticated from wild cabbage of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. Headed cabbages were selected in northern Europe, where cold-tolerant types suited the climate; the French botanist Jean Ruel gave an unmistakable description of a white headed cabbage by 1536, and by 1658 'Red Cabbage' was on the menu in England.<sup>[8](https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/profiles/AB/Brassicaoleracea)</sup> The western migration of headed cabbage from Europe began in 1541, and by 1669 it was growing in the English Colonies of the United States.<sup>[8](https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/profiles/AB/Brassicaoleracea)</sup>

Modern breeding continues to produce red cultivars for distinct uses. Seed catalogs list red cabbage varieties positioned for storage, fresh market, and processing, including pink-leaved types bred for long-lasting color and storability.<sup>[9](https://www.syngentavegetables.com/sites/g/files/kgtney786/files/media/document/2025/09/12/FOI%202025%20Digital%20Field%20Book.pdf)</sup>

## Anthocyanins and pH-sensitive color

The purple color comes from anthocyanins, water-soluble pigments whose molecular form changes with pH. In strongly acidic conditions (pH below 2) the red flavylium cation dominates; between pH 2 and 4 the color shifts toward a purple-blue quinoidal base; near neutral the colorless carbinol pseudo-base prevails; and above pH 7 decreasing stability and chalcone formation produce a green-yellow color.<sup>[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025686/)</sup> A study of red cabbage dye in solution recorded pinkish-red below pH 3, purple around pH 7, and blue to green shades at pH 8–10.<sup>[10](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61811-0)</sup> A 1950s study of the pigment's absorption spectra described the same sequence, red to purple to blue to green to yellow, and gave the pigment its description as a natural wide-range pH indicator.<sup>[3](https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd%3A15790904?crl=c&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A15790904&jrnl=00319317&sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Acrawler-gcd)</sup>

**Pigment chemistry varies by cultivar and harvest.** Across seven cultivars sampled at two maturity stages eight weeks apart, anthocyanin concentrations ranged from 1111 to 1780 mg Cy3G/100 g dry matter and did not increase with time; cultivar and maturation affected the pigment profile, with some varieties accumulating at least 30% diacylated pigments and the proportion of monoacylated pigments decreasing with time.<sup>[4](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf501991q)</sup> Diacylation matters for color: at pH 7, extracts from the second harvest, with a higher proportion of diacylation, produced λmax near 610 nm resembling FD&C Blue No. 2, while first-harvest extracts of selected varieties at pH 3.5 produced colors similar to FD&C Red No. 3.<sup>[4](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf501991q)</sup> Acylated red cabbage anthocyanins can also bind metal ions; Al<sup>3+</sup> induces bathochromic shifts of about 50 nm at pH 6 and 7, compared with at best about 20 nm for a purple sweet potato pigment, allowing stable blue colors.<sup>[11](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8123718/)</sup>

## Nutrition and phytochemicals

Red cabbage is nutritionally close to white cabbage but differs in several measured components. In a comparison of 18 cabbage cultivars, red cabbage had higher vitamin C (24.38 mg/100 g fresh weight), dl-α-tocopherol (0.261 mg/100 g), and total phenolic content (101.30 mg/100 g) than white and [savoy cabbage](https://www.edgepedia.org/savoy-cabbage).<sup>[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423806000483)</sup> Among five cruciferous vegetables grown in Malaysia, red cabbage showed the highest antioxidant activity and phenolic content (p < 0.05).<sup>[12](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22692190/)</sup>

Glucosinolates, sulfur-containing compounds responsible for much of the flavor of *Brassica* vegetables, also differ between the two forms. In an analysis of 21 red and 6 white cabbage varieties from the Netherlands, France, Japan, the USA, and [Scandinavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/scandinavia), red cabbage contained significantly more glucoraphanin and gluconasturtiin than white cabbage, while white cabbage had significantly higher glucoiberin; glucobrassicin did not differ significantly, and variation among red cultivars was large.<sup>[7](https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.867.6)</sup> Cooking method affects what remains: in a study of domestic preparation, fresh-cut red cabbage retained the highest nutritional quality.<sup>[13](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814614005706)</sup>

## Uses as a colorant and sensor

Red cabbage anthocyanins are of interest as natural food colorants because they cover a broad range of pH values compared with anthocyanins from other natural sources, changing from reddish-purple to blue-green between pH 2 and 9.<sup>[14](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814621014886)</sup> This pH sensitivity extends to packaging. An edible pH sensor made by immobilizing red cabbage anthocyanins on a bacterial cellulose membrane (with 1% polyvinyl alcohol to reduce swelling) showed distinctive colors from red through purple, blue-gray, and yellow across pH 1–14, with good linearity at pH 1–6 and 8–12, a response time of 4 minutes, reproducibility below 1% RSD, and color stability for 17 days at room temperature and 22 days under chiller conditions; used as a freshness sensor, it turned from blue-gray to pinkish-gray after 8 hours of milk storage at room temperature, distinguishing fresh from spoiled milk.<sup>[15](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pts.2507)</sup> A more recent milk-spoilage indicator based on red cabbage extract, with a total anthocyanin content of 236 mg/kg, tracked the pH decline, rising titratable acidity, and increasing microbial load that accompany storage at 30 °C as lactic acid bacteria metabolize lactose.<sup>[10](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61811-0)</sup> Cellulose-based time-temperature indicators impregnated with red cabbage extract exploit the same pH-dependent color response.<sup>[16](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11694-023-01805-y)</sup>

In the kitchen, the indicator behavior is directly visible: cooking red cabbage with acidic ingredients keeps the anthocyanins red, while alkaline conditions drive the shift toward blue and green.<sup>[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025686/)</sup>

## References

1. [Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra, INRAE Thesaurus](https://consultation.vocabulaires-ouverts.inrae.fr/thesaurus-inrae/en/page/c_23516?clang=en)
2. [Zayed et al. (2023). Red and white cabbages: An updated comparative review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35174750/)
3. [Absorption Spectra of the Anthocyanin Pigment of Red Cabbage: a Natural Wide-range pH Indicator](https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd%3A15790904?crl=c&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A15790904&jrnl=00319317&sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Acrawler-gcd)
4. [Anthocyanins Contents, Profiles, and Color Characteristics of Red Cabbage Extracts from Different Cultivars and Maturity Stages, J. Agric. Food Chem. 62(30): 7524–7531 (2014)](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf501991q)
5. [Application of Red Cabbage Anthocyanins as pH-Sensitive Pigments in Smart Food Packaging and Sensors, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025686/)
6. [Antioxidant phytochemicals in cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata), Scientia Horticulturae 108(3): 233–237 (2006)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423806000483)
7. [Hansen et al. (2010). Red cabbage, a vegetable rich in health-related glucosinolates. Acta Horticulturae 867](https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.867.6)
8. [Brassica oleracea, Oxford University Plants 400](https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/profiles/AB/Brassicaoleracea)
9. [Syngenta FOI 2025 Field Book, red cabbage varieties](https://www.syngentavegetables.com/sites/g/files/kgtney786/files/media/document/2025/09/12/FOI%202025%20Digital%20Field%20Book.pdf)
10. [Development and validation of a red cabbage anthocyanin-based colorimetric indicator for milk spoilage detection, Scientific Reports](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61811-0)
11. [Acylated Anthocyanins from Red Cabbage and Purple Sweet Potato Can Bind Metal Ions and Produce Stable Blue Colors, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8123718/)
12. [Antioxidant capacity and phenolic content of selected commercially available cruciferous vegetables, Malays J Nutr 13(1): 71–80 (2007)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22692190/)
13. [Domestic cooking methods affect the nutritional quality of red cabbage, Food Chemistry](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814614005706)
14. [Red cabbage anthocyanins: Stability, extraction, biological activities and applications in food systems, Food Chemistry](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814621014886)
15. [Kuswandi et al. (2020). Edible pH sensor based on immobilized red cabbage anthocyanins into bacterial cellulose membrane. Packaging Technology and Science 33: 321–332](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pts.2507)
16. [pH-dependent color response of cellulose-based time-temperature indicators impregnated with red cabbage extract, Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11694-023-01805-y)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Cultivars and cultivated forms › Vegetable, herb, and staple crop cultivars › Other vegetable and herb cultivars › Brassica vegetable cultivars*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license