You can find savoy cabbage at the grocery store pretty much year-round, and if you’re growing it in your own garden, you know it has a fantastic, long harvest window. But that brings up a big question for us gardeners: how do we actually keep this leafy green fresh? Can you store savoy cabbage for the long haul?
Storing Savoy Cabbage in the Fridge or Cellar
Whether you’ve just finished your harvest or picked up a head at the market, your first stop should be the refrigerator. Generally, it’ll stay fresh in there for up to a week. The exact shelf life depends a bit on the specific variety you’re growing—some are tougher than others and last a full seven days, while others are best used within three. Just a heads-up: if you’re buying from the store, you don’t really know how long it’s been sitting on the shelf, so try to cook that up as soon as possible!
Pop your cabbage in the crisper drawer, but keep it away from fruits (like apples or bananas) that give off ethylene gas, as that will make your cabbage spoil faster. If you have a root cellar or a cool basement, you can actually stretch that storage time to about 14 days. It’s not a huge jump, but every extra day helps! For the best results, your cellar should be:
- Cool
- Dry
- Dark
I recommend placing the head in a wooden crate wrapped in some newspaper. Some old-school gardeners even swear by hanging the heads from the ceiling!
Can You Freeze Savoy Cabbage?
If you need more than two weeks, freezing is definitely the way to go. This is your best bet for long-term storage, as it’ll keep perfectly fine for several months. The best part? If you freeze it right after harvesting, you lock in almost all those great vitamins.
Compare that to the fridge, where vitamins start to drop off pretty quickly. To freeze it, give the cabbage a good wash and slice it into strips. I usually recommend blanching the strips quickly first, then packing them into freezer-safe bags or containers before tossing them in the freezer.
Harvesting for Maximum Shelf Life
If your goal is to store your cabbage for a while, you need to harvest the entire head at once. While it’s tempting to just pluck off a few outer leaves and leave the heart growing in the garden, those individual leaves won’t stay fresh for long. For storage, always go for the whole head.
Use a sharp garden knife to cut the stalk right above the soil line. Shake off any loose dirt and check for hitchhiking bugs right there in the garden. Before you put it away, peel off any brown or nibbled outer leaves. One pro tip: don’t wash the cabbage until you’re actually ready to cook or freeze it. Excess moisture is the enemy of storage and will cause it to rot much faster!
