Cabbage; Ye Cai; Pao-Choi, (C); Ko-Lei-Chai, (H). Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. (Cruciferae)
A biennial which produces a large, more or less dense "head" of leaves from a condensed stem in the first year, then a large open racemose inflorescence in the second. Cabbages are harvested after the "head" has been formed.
Uses
Leaves are eaten cooked or raw in salads and sometimes fermented in brine to make sauerkraut (sour cabbage). Cabbages contain 91% water, vitamins A, B1, B2 and C, minerals essential to health and some proteins, starch and sugar.
Notes
B. oleracea L. is another important species of Brassica crop. It is the foundation of the whole cabbage race and is pre-eminently European. The wild cabbage is indigenous to the Mediteranean region, South Western Europe and Southern England where it grows on cliffs. Its leaves are fringed, or waved, and are often tinted with red (cultivation has produced the red pickling cabbage) and it sends up an inflorescence stalk bearing a host of pale lemon-coloured flowers which seed profusely. It was cultivated at least 4500 years ago and gave rise to a variety of forms totally different from the original humble wild stock.
