Red Cabbage Gender Determination Test

by Julie Snyder

Boy or Girl

Many of us become a little obsessed about the baby's gender. Parents have probably wondered since there have been babies. The Chinese Gender Chart Calculator we see online was supposedly discovered in a tomb, and is rumored to be over 700 years old.

Various websites "guarantee" you can know your baby's gender, if only you'll send them a couple of hundred dollars, and some of your blood. You can pick up a test at the drug store that will tell you if your wee one is a boy or a girl.

Does it seem frivolous to spend money on gender determination when you have a free test -- that big ultrasound -- coming up soon? But you really want to know! We've got the perfect solution for you -- the fun, inexpensive, and "seemingly accurate (but not necessarily scientific) Red Cabbage Gender Determination Test!

The Test

1. Buy a red cabbage (don't substitute green cabbage -- it won't work). Size isn't important unless you love cooked cabbage. In that case get a huge one!
2. Cut the cabbage into small chunks.
3. Boil some water. Then add it to cover the cabbage chunks. Let sit for at least ten minutes.
4. Drain the cabbage and KEEP THE WATER! The water should be blueish in color.
5. Set aside the cabbage for lunch. I suggest stir fry or stew.
6. Pee in a cup! Grab a cup and head to the bathroom. If you're a little squeamish, you may want to use disposable cups.
7. Set up the test. In a separate cup mix 1 part urine with 1 part cabbage water.
8. Read the test!
   • If the urine/water turns pink/red its a boy!
   • If it turns purple its a girl!

Try it ladies and post your results! Is it accurate? Let us know. Remember, No gender determination test you can do at home is 100% accurate, so don't paint the nursery based on these findings.

Science Behind It

Red cabbage contains a chemical that changes colors at different pH's. Very acidic solutions will turn a red color. Neutral solutions result in a purplish color. Basic solutions appear greenish-yellow. Is urine pH different if you're carrying a boy or a girl? Perhaps, or maybe that same pH indicator changes colors for a different reason and it can determine between boy and girl.

Leftover Cabbage Water Solution

How about all that leftover cabbage water? Get the kids involved and have a little fun with your cabbage pH indicator. Try adding lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, ammonia cleaner, dish soap, carbonated water -- you can get blues, greens, pinks, purples, mauves, maroons, maybe even yellows and oranges. Make a whole rainbow! Kids enthused? You can make indicators from elderberries, blackberries, radish skins and cherries, too!

Julie Snyder is the mom of six, interested in kids, pregnancy, birth, people. She is editor at Pregnancy.org and lives in the outlying Seattle area.

Copyright © Julie Snyder. Permission to republish granted to Pregnancy.org, LLC.