Whidbey Island’s Deep Harvest Farm gives this cool-weather crop the limelight it’s due

written by Corinne Whiting

Cabbage enthusiasts may feel their favorite cool-weather crop doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. Some say it’s often overshadowed by trendier relatives such as kale and Brussels sprouts. Yet those in the know understand the benefits of this dense, leafy member of the cruciferous vegetable group. As an exceptionally healthy superfood, which comes in a rainbow of hues including green, white, purple and even red, cabbage is especially high in vitamins C and K.

Annie Jesperson, co-owner of Whidbey Island’s Deep Harvest Farm, explains that all members of the Brassica family, which includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radishes and turnips, thrive in cool maritime climates. “These crops get stressed by too many heat units and without sufficient moisture,” she said. “The Pacific Northwest weather provides pretty optimal growing conditions for all of these crops.”

While Jesperson doesn’t know Washington cabbage to have a specific flavor, she does attest to cabbage being mild, juicy and delightfully crisp when grown in ideal conditions, like we have here in the Northwest. When exposed to too much heat and not enough moisture, however, the vegetable can get stressed (which may lead to spicy and softer heads).

“I wholeheartedly recommend making fermented sauerkraut and kimchi from cabbage as there are countless health benefits one receives from eating fermented foods,” she said. “We also love it in stir-fry, stew and slaw.”

Home cooks and professional chefs alike appreciate all of the creativity that this vegetable allows for in the kitchen. Fresh cabbage can deliver a crisp crunch that’s perfect for salads and other meal toppers, while cooked cabbage leaves are durable and full of flavor, ready to be stuffed or served in other ways. “You can do so many things with cabbage, and we do!” Jesperson said. “Sauer-kraut and kimchi play huge roles in our meals. We’re not afraid to have fermented cabbage at breakfast, lunch and dinner.” She also enjoys a fancy coleslaw with kohlrabi, carrots and apples, as well as a hearty beet and cabbage borscht or other stew options on a cold winter evening.

Jesperson and her husband, Nathaniel Talbot, have been farming on Whidbey Island since 2011, when they moved from Portland, Oregon, to participate in the Greenbank Farm Training Center program, now called the Organic Farm School. For the past decade, they’ve run their own organic seed company, through which they sell more than 170 varieties of organic-certified, regionally adapted vegetable, herb and flower seeds ideal for northwest farmers and gardens. (They sell seeds on their website and at about twenty-five regional nurseries.) They also run a farm share program for 100 local households, while selling to their neighborhood grocery store, local restaurants and the Whidbey Island Grown Food Hub.

On the farm, they begin seeding cabbage in their start house in mid-March and seed their last cabbage plantings in mid-July. “We love growing both the quicker-growing green, tender, juicy varieties like Primax and the Napa cabbage variety Sativa. We grow both the seed for these varieties as well as the tasty heads,” Jesperson said. They also grow lots of hefty fall and winter varieties such as Reaction, Melissa and an “amazing pointy kraut cabbage” called Filderkraut for their customers to enjoy from October through December.

Jesperson recommends growing varieties offered by regionally based seed companies such as their own (Deep Harvest Seeds), Uprising Seeds in Bellingham or Adaptive Seeds in Sweet Home, Oregon. “If these farmer-owned, organic-certified and local outfits are selling a variety, customers in the Northwest can trust they’ll be appropriate varieties to grow in their gardens and farms,” she advised. As for storage, cabbage likes to be kept in a plastic bag inside a fridge, ideally unwashed to maximize its longevity. (Like this, it can store for up to two months.)

Culinary experts appreciate multi-use vegetables like cabbage that can be boiled, steamed, braised, sautéed or baked. Chef Robin Posey of downtown Seattle’s brand-new Marin, attached to the recently revamped Kimpton Hotel Monaco Seattle, shows how this vegetable can be worked into scrumptious recipes in any season.

One such creation of Posey’s, ideal for chillier months, features warm cabbage salad with pork belly “croutons,” honeycrisp apples and hazelnuts in a black garlic-molasses vinaigrette. “The crunchiness of the cabbage, combined with the sweet sharpness of the apple and the nuttiness from the filberts, makes this a delightfully Pacific Northwest-y dish, with ingredients that are easy to find in any local market,” said Seattle native Posey.