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Cabbage
Scientific Name: Brassica oleracea capitata
Family: Cruciferae
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Cabbages, in the broadest sense, have been cultivated since very early times. They are derived from a wild form native to central and western Europe, and western Asia. Some botanists ascribe these wild plants to the variety silvicola which grows on rocks. They are all included in the diffuse and polymorphic species Brassica oleracea of the Cruciferae (mustard family). Today, because of selections started many centuries ago, the cultivated forms differ greatly, not only from the original type, but also from one another. Capitata, or Common Cabbage, with smooth, pale green leaves (but also red or purple) which are tightly appressed to form an even more compact head than that of the Savoy Cabbage. Caro was said to use "no other physic" and considered the cabbage to be valuable both as a food and as a stimulant, and as a remedy for many ailments from sore throats to cataracts. However, it is not known which forms were used in Roman times, as the sketchy descriptions left by Cato, Pliny, Columella, and others, are insufficient to define precisely the morphology of the cultivated forms of those days. Possibly they were still similar to the wild varieties, but are now irretrievably lost. In Europe, the ancient Germans made great use of the cabbage. The varieties of greatest economic and commercial importance today are the Savoy, the common cabbage and the cauliflower. The Savoy and common cabbage show a consistently parallel behavior. In the course of time, selection has brought about great changes in the appearance of these vegetables compared with the wild varieties. The leaves have become very broad and tightly appressed, forming the so-called head, which can be spherical, oblong, or slightly depressed. The more firm and compact the head, the more valuable is the cabbage commercially, as the internal leaves will be smoother, whiter, and more tender. The external leaves are tougher (those of the Savoy being more crimped and blistered), more deeply colored, and often having a soft bloom that gives them a characteristic waxy appearance. A longitudinal section shows that the head is a very large terminal bud. In the spring (cabbages are late summer and autumnal crops, lasting until the next spring) when the many dormant axillary buds start blooming, the head loses its compact shape and breaks down completely. From the dietary viewpoint both the Savoy and the common cabbage, like many plants of the mustard family have been highly recommended, especially during winter, either raw or cooked. Raw cabbage has a high vitamin content, especially of vitamin C. Cooked cabbage is low in fat, medium-low in protein, a good diuretic agent and, because of its high content of cellulose fibers, effective as roughage in stimulating the intestines. Cabbages also cost less than most other vegetables. It is no longer possible to buy all the different cultivars that were listed in the old treatises. Even the most comprehensive seed catalogs list only a few cultivars of Savoy cabbage, and sometimes they represent very slight differences. The common or head cabbage cultivars are further subdivided on a seasonal and color basis: early cabbage: Copenhagen Market, Market Victor, Market Topper, Early Jersey, Wakefield, Earliana, Golden Acre, and Stonehead Hybrid; mid-season cabbage: O-S Cross, Harris Resistant Dutch, Market Prize, King Cole and Roundup; later or winter cabbage: Danish Ballhead, Green Winter, Premium Flat Dutch, Surehead, and Danish Roundhead; red or purple cabbage: Red Acre, Ruby Ball, and Red Head. [Bianchini, Francesco, Corbetta, Francesco, Pistoia, Marilena, The Complete Book of Fruits and Vegetables, United States Translation: Crown Publishers, New York, 1976; Originally published in Italy as I Frutti della Terra, Arnoldo Mondadori Publisher, Italy, 1973]