— Tell me now, man, have you ever eaten “red” cabbage, like this one I show you?
— Yes, I have eaten a colored cabbage, but I think it was blue. Something like the purple color of the Lakers jersey.
— If it had been boiled properly, it should have kept its crimson color and remind you the one of the Cavaliers. The discoloration of the cabbage was related to the active acidity of the liquid, in which it was boiled. Something contributed negatively. So let´s start again. Bring water to boil.
— Should I add salt?
— Don’t ask. Learn to check yourself. You are supposed to wanna be a good cook.
— OK. I decided to add salt, as we have already agreed. Let´s wait a while to see… Well, man, the cabbage has already turned blue. What the fuck happened?
— You have to find out by yourself. Now, bring more water to boil, but this time pour vinegar into the pot…
— Hey, asshole ……., what is happening? Well, the cabbage is still red, eh. So, after all, it was so easy; I think I understood: Green vegetables need an alkaline environment to keep their color, while, on the contrary, the red ones need an acidic one. If we do the opposite, the vegetables lose their color and go to waste.
— Well they are still edible, but they are not suitable for serving in more formal circumstances.
— I’m beginning to understand. Bottom line, in cooking, everything has an explanation…
(excerpt from the lemma Acidity and alkalinity of the DG book)