Cabbage

Pick a head that feels heavy for its size with tight, snug outer leaves - a light head is old and dried out. Green is the everyday workhorse; red holds its shape and color best for roasting and slaws; and savoy is more tender and cooks faster, so save it for quick sautés. Whole cabbage is a fridge champion: it keeps 1–2 months in the crisper untouched, but once you cut it, wrap the cut face tight and use it within a week. When cutting wedges, slice through the core and leave the core in as it's what holds the wedge together in the oven. Save the coring for shredded preps only.

Cabbage is the cheapest vegetable in the store that still tastes like a splurge when you cook it right…and cooking it right almost always means browning, not boiling. Roasted cabbage wedges at 425°F get caramelized, crispy edges that convert cabbage skeptics, and sautéed cabbage takes 10 minutes on a weeknight. My default is roasted wedges - nothing else gets you that crispy-charred-edge, tender-middle payoff from a vegetable this cheap. Whatever method you pick below, the rule is the same: cabbage needs color. Pale, steamed-soft cabbage is why people think they don't like it.