Most people cook cabbage wrong. Here's the right way to use each one

It's time to start thinking of cabbage as more than a salad staple, the main ingredient in a coleslaw or the festive veggie that goes alongside corned beef on St. Paddy's day. This leafy vegetable comes in many shapes and sizes, and with that, many different tastes and textures.

Over the years you've probably passed by these different types of cabbages in the supermarket not totally sure what to do with them or wondering how they'd taste. In this article, we break down each of the most popular cabbage's flavors and explain the most delicious way to eat it.

Ready to get started? Check out the list below!

Red cabbage isn't actually red--it's more purple. Sometimes it's even called blue kraut. But whatever you call it, you can't deny its awesome color and earthy taste. Red cabbage is also packed with potassium and vitamin A and C. When using it in food, we love it tossed in a salad for a crunch and nice splash of color. It's also great in coleslaw, cooked up in a hash or braised with veggies and meat.

This is the kind of cabbage you're probably most familiar with. A nice, green leafy cabbage is synonymous with crisp salads. But green cabbage is also amazing in warm dishes because it gets sweeter and softer as it's cooked. This makes the green cabbage best for the slow cooker. Green cabbage is delicious tossed in fried noodle dishes or simply boiled and smothered in butter.

This striking veggie has beautiful green leaves that ruffle and crinkle at the ends. The taste is mild but earthy, and the leaves themselves aren't tough, even when raw. This is a great cabbage to add some volume and texture to a dish--so try thin-slicing it and tossing it in soups or stir-fries.

Bok choy might look like a distant cousin of the onion, but its watery and crisp stem with tender leaves are quite reminiscent of its cabbage family. The leaves taste almost like baby spinach, and we love this cabbage chopped up and dropped in soups, fried up in a stir-fry or simply mixed in with other steamed veggies.

Napa cabbage, also sometimes called Chinese cabbage, almost looks like yellow romaine lettuce. These yellow-green leaves are soft, sweet and make a wonderful addition to any salad. They're also super-yummy in dumplings, used as wraps, tossed in soups or braised.

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