cabbage soup without the you-know-what?

[OrganicLife]

Is there any way to tinker with cabbage soup to help curb the gas that seems inevitable? I know with beans if you toss the first batch of boiling water it helps but I'm not sure if the same goes for cabbage.

I'm doing a (quite yummy) detox with all of my freshly picked cabbages but I don't want my husband to leave me over it! lol

[cayjohan]

A couple of posters have mentioned spices; if this sort of addition appeals to you, try a Google search on digestive spices in Indian cooking. There's a ton of info out there. Some is of a straight scientific bent, some is more of a "spiritual" nature. Someone more knowledgeable than me on the topic might weigh in.

As a testimony, I will note that I can eat a ton of the sulfur producing vegetables when I am cooking in an Indian idiom, without the uncomfortable consequences. Might be worth a look-see search for the spices recommended.

[nemo]

I've always found Savoy cabbage to be more gentle than regular green cabbage. Try a head, and if it works better for you, maybe plant some of that variety next year.
I use it exclusively for stuffed cabbage and a friend grills it in wedges on her George Forman.

I add a 3 X 5 chunk of kombu seaweed to dried beans when resonstituting them (the first cook). But now that I think about it, beans have a complex sugar that's not readily digestible and folks here are talking about sulfur, so I'm not sure that kombu would be appropriate for cabbage.

[willownt]

Fennel and anise both work well. You can make a tea and drink separately instead of cooking with the gassy item, for that matter. I think over time, your body gets used to eating high fiber foods, but that does take time.

[maria lorraine]

I've heard that adding a couple of carrots works to alleviate gas. I've also heard to cut slices of ginger root and add them to the pot (remove before service). Haven't tried either. Love the fennel seeds idea...I wonder how it works if it does? Does it supply the enzyme so that cabbage is digested and doesn't cause gas?

[Cheese Boy]

I can't pick apart how and why because I simply stumbled upon this solution by accident. I couldn't understand why cabbage was less gassy when I prepared it including Italian-style homemade sausage. The only digestive aid in the sausage that I recognized was the fennel seeds. Now, when I prepare cabbage sans sausage, I put about an eighth of a teaspoon of fennel seeds in the cabbage mix. For some, that might be a bit too much -- adjust accordingly. Surprisingly, it works.

[Cheese Boy]

Twenty untoasted fennel seeds cooked in with the cabbage and water. There's Gas-X and Beano also, don't forget, for those who don't tolerate foods high in sulphur very well.

Interesting information if you scroll down: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tn...

[HLing]

I've been told by experienced Chinese cook who say that if you cook the bean soups (mung bean, azuki...etc) with a piece of ginger it will help reduce the gas. It might work with cabbage as well.