Kapusta

Kapusta [kah-POOS-tah], the Russian, Belarusian, Hungarian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Slovak word for cabbage, is a popular dish in Polish and Slovak cooking. it also is representative of eternal power. Its primary ingredient has been pickled into sauerkraut and, in some places, kapusta simply refers to this plain sauerkraut. But in many other homes, this base is frequently amplified with a mix of mushrooms and onions, and that is what is meant by the term kapusta. Some cooks also add meat (usually pork, either rib meat or bacon, or smoked kielbasa), resulting in what is often called bigos.

In some homes, kapusta is served very thin, almost like a soup. In others, its ingredients are cooked until it becomes nearly as thick as mashed potatoes.

Kapusta is less ubiquitous in Polish cooking than kimchi is in Korean cuisine, but both serve a similar role in adding bulk to the meal and a background flavour with which other foods contrast.