Cabbage
The cabbage is a plant of the Family
Brassicaceae . It is herbaceous,
biennial, and a
dicotyledonous flowering plant with leaves forming a characteristic compact cluster.
The cabbage is derived from a leafy
wild mustard plant, found in the
Mediterranean region around 100 AD. The English name derives from the
Normanno-Picard
caboche . Cabbage was developed by ongoing artificial selection for suppression of the internode length. The dense core of the cabbage is called the babchka.
Encyclopedia
- Coronary artery bypass surgery is sometimes pronounced 'Cabbage'. See also Cabbage car.
The
cabbage is a plant of the Family
Brassicaceae . It is herbaceous,
biennial, and a
dicotyledonous flowering plant with leaves forming a characteristic compact cluster.
The cabbage is derived from a leafy
wild mustard plant, found in the
Mediterranean region around 100 AD. The English name derives from the
Normanno-Picard
caboche . Cabbage was developed by ongoing artificial selection for suppression of the internode length. The dense core of the cabbage is called the babchka.
Uses
The only part of the plant that is normally eaten is the leafy head; more precisely, the spherical cluster of immature leaves, excluding the partially unfolded outer leaves.
The so-called 'cabbage head' is widely consumed — raw, cooked, or preserved — in a great variety of dishes, and is thus a
leaf vegetable.
Raw
While raw cabbage can be eaten in hand, for most uses it is sliced into thin strips or shredded in to salads or chopped, as in
coleslaw.
Cooked
Cabbage is often prepared by boiling, usually as part of
soups or
stews such as the Central and Eastern European
borscht. Boiling tenderizes the leaves, and releases
sugars, and develops a characteristic "cabbage" aroma. Indeed, boiled cabbage seems to have fallen out of favor in North America, possibly due to the strong smell released during the cooking, to its image as a food of the poor, or to its reputation for promoting flatulence. Boiled cabbage as an accompaniment to meats and other dishes can be an opportune source of umami,
sugars and dietary fiber.
Fermented and preserved
Cabbage is often consumed as
sauerkraut. Finely sliced cabbage is mixed with salt and undergoes lactic acid fermentation. Sauerkraut was historically prepared at home, as a way of storing food for the winter; but like other canned and pickled foods is nowadays mainly an industrialized product.
Poultice
Raw cabbage is used as in many traditional medicine treatments to restore circulation and help reduce inflammation. Cabbage paste is wrapped around the area to be treated and this poultice soothes and removes toxins from the injured area for up to one hour per application.
Varieties
There are many varieties of cabbage based on shape and time of maturity. Traditional varieties include "Late Flat Dutch", "Early Jersey Wakefield" , "Danish Ballhead" . Savoy Cabbage has a round head with crinkled leaves.
Red cabbage is a small, round headed type with dark red leaves.
Krautman is the most common variety for commercial production of sauerkrauts.
Cultivation
Broadly speaking, cabbage varieties come in two groups, early and late. The early varieties mature in about 50 days. They produce small heads which do not keep well and are intended for consumption while fresh. The late cabbage matures in about 80 days, and produces a larger head.
Cabbage can be started indoors or sowed directly. Like all brassicae, cabbage is a cool season crop, so early and late plantings do better than those maturing in the heat of the summer.
Control of insect pests is important, particularly in commercial production where appearance is important. The
pesticides
sevin and
malathion are both listed for use on cabbage. The
caterpillars of some
butterflies in the family
Pieridae feed on brassicas and can be serious pests.
Cabbages keep well and were thus a common winter vegetable before
refrigeration and long-distance shipping of produce.
Related Brassica oleracea varieties
Besides cabbage proper, the species
Brassica oleracea has many distinctive
cultivars, which are commonly known by other names:
broccoli ,
cauliflower ,
kale,
collard greens, and spring greens ,
kohlrabi ,
brussels sprouts ,
Chinese kale or Chinese broccoli ,
broccolini , and
broccoflower .
See also
- Chinese cabbage resembles cabbage, but is derived from a different species Brassica campestris
- Kerguelen cabbage is the distantly related Pringlea antiscorbutica
- Cabbage soup diet
External links
- by Austrian chef's website
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