There were 822 million meals with cabbage last year. Consumption has remained constant over the past three years. 56% of consumption is by the over-45s 63% of meals where cabbage was consumed are defined as main meals 33% of consumption is on a Sunday Health is a driving factor for 43% of servings A vegetable steeped in tradition The consumption of cabbage is heavily linked to traditional main meals. A third of consumption takes place on a Sunday and nearly two-thirds of consumption is defined as a main meal. The most common complementary foods are meats (23% of cabbage is eaten with poultry, 19% with beef and 15% with pork), vegetables (61% with carrots, 24% with roast potatoes and 17% with peas) and gravy (55%). Health is the driving factor behind 43% of cabbage consumption. By comparison, 33% of total vegetable consumption is for health reasons and total meals stand at 22%. Over-45s account for 56% of cabbage consumption. This compares with their consumption of 46% of all foods. Children eat the smallest percentage of cabbage. Although children eat a smaller percentage of all vegetables than their share of total foods, they under-index particularly heavily on cabbage. Consumption of cabbage is seasonal, dropping by 11% between March and August 2006 compared with September 2005 to February 2006. Boiling is the most popular method of preparation, with 50% of servings cooked this way. Baking is the next most popular, with 12% of servings. Gareth Shaw

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