Both cabbages and other cruciferous – cabbage, cauliflower, etc. – store substances called flavor precursors in their tissues, as well as enzymes that act on them to release certain flavors in the face of the potential threat of an attack .
The defensive precursors of cabbages are called glucosinolates, and they contain sulfur and nitrogen . When the cells of the plant suffer damage, such as the bites of a predator or the cuts of the knife that we make when chopping its leaves, the two molecular species mentioned are mixed, and the enzymatic fraction initiates a chain of reactions that generates bitter compounds, spicy and with a very strong smell .
If the cabbages are grown in hot conditions and with little water, the flavor precursors increase. And although when cooked they lose their intense bitterness and strong aroma, if they are cooked for too long, their sulfur compounds are transformed into trisulfides, responsible for the fetid and persistent smell of overcooked cabbage .
