Cabbage is any of the various plants of the Capitata Group of the species Brassica oleracea of the mustard family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae), as well as the leafy head of these plants, which are popular food items. More generally, the term cabbage also has been used to include diverse horticultural forms developed from the wild cabbage, Brassica oleracea, which belong to this same species, but are placed in distinct groups, such as kale (Acephala Group), cauliflower (Botrytis Group), brussels sprout (Gemmifera Group), and broccoli (Italica Group). These diverse forms of food plants were a product of human creativity, through artificial selection over the years.
The word “cabbage” is an Anglicized form of the French caboche, meaning “head.” It has been used, loosely, to refer to loose-heading (or even nonheading) forms of Brassica oleracea as well as to the modern hard-heading type classified as B. oleracea variety capitata.
Origin and history
The original Brassica oleracea ancestor is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe. Although wild B. oleracea is believed to have been cultivated for several thousand years, its history as a domesticated plant is not certain before Greek and Roman times, when is known to be a well-established garden vegetable. (There is some evidence of cabbage use in the Shensi province in China dating back to 4,000 B.C.E.)
Theophrastus (c. 370— 285 B.C.E.) mentions three kinds of this species: a curly-leaved, a smooth-leaved, and a wild-type (Zohary and Hopf 2000). Both Cato ((234 B.C.E. – 149 B.C.E.) andPliny ((23 – 79 C.E.) extolled the virtues of cabbage. Cato believed it should be eaten raw with vinegar, a precursor to cole slaw. Pliny, in his work, Natural History, mentions cabbage under the classification “Materia Medica,” focusing on its medicinal qualities when taken internally and when used as a poultice.
Soon after the first domestication of plants, ancestral “cabbage” was being grown as a leafy vegetable around the Mediterranean. Because the leaves were the part of the plant consumed, those plants with the largest leaves were selectively propagated for next years crop.
It is believed that the continued preference for ever-larger leaves led to the vegetable we now know as kale (known botanically as Brassica oleracea, var. acephala (“headless cabbage.”) Kale is, of course, still grown today. But eventually some developed a taste for those plants with a tight cluster of tender young leaves in the center of the plant, at the top of the stem, and that type, too, came to be selected. Over the centuries, that selecting led to what we think of as cabbages, which were probably a distinct type by as early as the first century C.E. Cabbage is Brassica oleracea, var. capitata, “headed cabbage.”)
Brassica oleracea
The true cabbages (Brassica oleracea, Capitata group) are considered to be descended from the wild cabbage, Brassica oleracea, a species of Brassica native to coastal southern and western Europe. The tolerance of wild cabbage to salt and lime, but intolerance of competition from other plants, typically restricts its natural occurrence to limestone sea cliffs.
Wild B. olearacea is a tall biennial plant, forming a stout rosette of large leaves in the first year. The leaves are fleshier and thicker than those of other species of Brassica, adaptations to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a flower spike 1–2 m tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.
Wild cabbage has been bred into a wide range of cultivars, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and more, some of which are hardly recognizable as being members of the same species. It is one of the most important human food crop plants. The cultivars of B. oleracea are grouped by developmental form into seven major cultivar groups, of which the Acephala Group remains most like the natural Wild Cabbage in appearance:
- Brassica oleracea Acephala Group – kale and collard greens (borekale)
- Brassica oleracea Alboglabra Group – kai-lan (Chinese broccoli)
- Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group – cauliflower (and Chou Romanesco)
- Brassica oleracea Capitata Group – cabbage
- Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group – Brussels sprouts
- Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group – kohlrabi
- Brassica oleracea Italica Group – broccoli
Cabbage!! A History!!
FAQ
Why is cabbage called cabbage?
What is the origin of the name cabbage?
How was cabbage discovered?
What country eats the most cabbage?
Where does the name Cabbage come from?
Many European and Asiatic names for cabbage are derived from the Celto-Slavic root cap or kap, meaning “head”. The late Middle English word cabbage derives from the word caboche (“head”), from the Picard dialect of Old French. This in turn is a variant of the Old French caboce.
What is the difference between cabbage and lettuce?
Though both the green leafy vegetables look alike, cabbage belongs to the brassicaceae family whereas lettuce belons to asteraceae family. Moreover, cabbage has high amounts of vitamin-c, which is almost 50 % more than that of lettuce. The fiber content of cabbage is also higher than lettuce while the former and latter has same amounts of sodium and potassium levels. Typically, lettuce is mostly consumed raw in wraps, salads, soups etc. whereas raw cabbage has strong flavor and thus is mostly partially or completely cooked.
Where did Head Cabbage come from?
Rows of head cabbage (Brassica oleracea, variety capitata) in a field near Richmond, Tasmania. Head cabbage is one of the most economically significant forms of the plant. Hard-headed cabbage was developed in northern Europe during the Middle Ages, and soft-headed cabbages, such as savoy, are believed to have originated earlier in southern Europe.
Why is cabbage called a Medica?
Pliny, in his work, Natural History, mentions cabbage under the classification “Materia Medica,” focusing on its medicinal qualities when taken internally and when used as a poultice. Soon after the first domestication of plants, ancestral “cabbage” was being grown as a leafy vegetable around the Mediterranean.