Red cabbage is inclined to turn a dingy purple in the long cooking required to soften it. You can avoid this by cooking it in a microwave oven. Shred the cabbage finely, and cook it on High for 6 minutes.

If using a conventional oven, a good splash of red wine or red wine vinegar in the latter stages of cooking goes some way to restoring its vibrant ruby color. Because of the long cooking time of this dish, it makes sense to make it in a large quantity; the red cabbage keeps well in the refrigerator and some say it is even better reheated. Bake some potatoes or a potato gratin while it is cooking to utilize the oven heat, and serve with pork chops or good quality sausages.

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There are dozens of varieties of cabbage, including red, green, white, savoy, pointed and drumhead, as well as closely related curly kale and spring greens - but they all release smelly hydrogen sulphide gas during cooking.

The amount of gas they produce doubles between the fifth and seventh minutes of boiling, so to cut down on the smell, you must either keep the cooking time to under 5 minutes, which suits the looser-headed varieties best, or opt for much longer cooking in a closed oven to cook off this effect and achieve a mellowness of flavor.

Green and savoy cabbages are best cooked fast by adding the leaves to boiling water. Red and white cabbage, having greatest resilience in the leaves, respond better to slow cooking.

Alternatively, all cabbages can be sliced into thin shreds and quickly stir-fried, perhaps with the addition of caraway seeds, lemon juice, soy sauce or chopped chili and eaten while still a little crisp.

Ruffled leaves and deep color make savoy the distinctive aristocrat of the winter cabbage patch. Cooked fast with juniper berries and gin is a fitting partner for rich beef casseroles and roast pork, and will not cause smells in your kitchen.

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