Repolyo is having a moment
The food world is buzzing about cabbage. Pinterest named it the “new kitchen MVP” for 2026. Vogue declared it the chicest vegetable of the year. The New York Times even dedicated an entire newsletter to it (“How Healthy Is Cabbage?” March 2026).
In New York City, it’s showing up on upscale restaurant menus. In Europe, food media outlet Falstaff called it a “remarkable comeback” and crowned it the vegetable of the year. Roasted cabbage steaks, caramelized cabbage wedges, kimchi cocktails—the West has apparently just discovered what much of Asia has known for centuries.
Cabbage through the years
In recent weeks, cabbage has again made headlines for an overabundance coming from farmers in Benguet, and in a claim that the government is importing cabbage from abroad. Its abundance on our own shores and health benefits make it a top choice for vegetables we should consume daily.
Cabbage, or “repolyo,” made its way to the Philippines in the Spanish colonial times through the galleon trade from Acapulco, Mexico (then called New Spain). During the American colonial period, Americans settled in the cooler north, where they introduced plants that adapted to more moderate climates. The Igorots, as well as Ibaloi and Kankanaey, would start planting these vegetables. And in 1910, the Americans created the La Trinidad Experimental Farm, which featured strawberries, carrots, lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage, and red peppers in the farming system—and where these crops thrived.
The global fuss
Repolyo has been part of every nilaga and ginisa for as long as we Filipinos remember, so what exactly is the global fuss about? The renaissance of cabbage is similar to the rise of kale in the 2000s when chefs took note of its chewy leaves.
In the United States, cookbook author Erin Clarke notes that “home cooks have finally discovered what chefs have known for years”—that when cooked properly, cabbage is genuinely delicious. The trend there centers on technique: high-heat caramelization to bring out natural sweetness, roasting to create crispy edges, and slicing it into thick “steaks” that can anchor a whole meal.
Nutrition experts are also piling on, pointing out that cabbage offers more vitamin C, folate, and potassium than popular options like lettuce, and that compounds in cruciferous vegetables are linked to anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
In the UK, flavored cream cheese with cabbage-based accompaniments is trending in bagel shops. In Austria and Germany, the interest goes beyond sauerkraut and into roasted preparations that treat it as a serious vegetable rather than a condiment. The Guardian coined the term “cabbagecore” to describe the cultural moment. Salon noted that a Sandy Liang-designed cabbage bag became a fashion statement.
There is, apparently, a cabbage aesthetic now.
Versatile as it is tasty and healthy
One honest reason cabbage is trending globally is economics. Food prices have risen sharply in many countries, and cabbage—affordable, calorie-dense, available year-round, and slow to spoil—offers real value. One head can stretch across multiple meals. Filipino families have always known this calculus. Repolyo has long been the vegetable you reach for when the budget is tight and you still need to feed everyone well.
That’s not a small thing. In a world where “eating healthy” is increasingly coded as expensive—superfoods, organic produce, specialty ingredients—repolyo is a quiet counterargument. High in fiber. Low in calories. Cheap at the palengke.
And it tastes good in everything, from simple ginisa to a rich, slow-simmered nilaga, and incredibly filling.
More than a humble vegetable
The global cabbage moment is, at its core, a rediscovery of something many cultures never forgot. Korean, German, Polish, Irish, Chinese, Filipino, Indian—cabbage has been a cornerstone of working-class and everyday cooking in dozens of cuisines for centuries. The West is arriving late to a party that’s been going on forever.
That said, the trend does bring something useful: It’s prompting home cooks in places where cabbage had been dismissed as boring to actually learn how to prepare it well. The caramelized cabbage steak that’s going viral on TikTok—olive oil, high heat, patience—is genuinely a revelation if you’ve only ever seen it boiled into submission.
For Filipino cooks, the invitation is different: not to discover repolyo, but perhaps to share it. Ginisang repolyo with tofu is, in its way, as sophisticated and satisfying as any trendy roasted cabbage dish. Nilaga is as restorative as any bone broth the wellness world can dream up. Pancit bihon belongs on any list of great cabbage-forward dishes in the world.
The repolyo doesn’t need a trend to validate it. It’s been on our tables—humble, useful, endlessly versatile—long before Vogue got there.
