Cabbage rules!! The mother of broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower….
The organic cabbage family, from A to Z (The Hebrew א'-ת' so some are missing):
A. Aifisios the Roman, writer of the oldest recipe book, wrote about broccoli way back then. But, broccoli came to Israel only in the 1980s and only frozen! However, in 1980 we lived in the north near a family that grew fresh broccoli and supplied all of the fancy hotels in Haifa. Lucky us.
B. Brassica oleracea is the botanical name of the wild cabbage, the mother of broccoli, cauliflower, Kale, kohlrabi and the garden cabbage. All developed slowly by artificial selection, generations of patience of the growers, all from the same plant – the wild cabbage that is quite similar to Kale.
C. Cruciferous – This is actually the name of this extended family that also includes mustard, arugula, radishes of all sorts, turnips and more. The name comes from the shape of the flowers, which are composed of four petals arranged in a cross shape.
D. In "Dvarim BeAlma" Alma writes so nicely “if you do not like sauerkraut, it means that you have not found the right recipe”. She is right!
E. Even very long ago, the Famous Greeks wrote about the nutritional advantages of this family. Among the writers was Plini the Elder, who wrote "natural history", a guide of 37 volumes.
F. Fertilization in this family is performed by insects that fly from flower to flower. All members of this entire family can fertilize each other. 🙂 Imagine a cabbage with broccoli flowers, etc…
G. George Bush Sr., refused to eat his broccoli during a royal meal. He said something like: "I hate broccoli. My mother used to make me eat broccoli. I am now the most powerful man in the world and I have decided that I will never eat broccoli!". When he returned to the White House he found 10 tons of broccoli left there by the Fruits and Vegetable Growers Association, in protest. His wife Barbara, the first lady, said she actually likes broccoli.
H. Hybrid? Crossbreeding of turnip and cabbage = kohlrabi? Not exactly. But this is the meaning of the name of this thickened stem in German. Kohl = cabbage. Rabi = turnip. In Hebrew the real name means something like "cob cabbage".
I. In tropical regions some of the family can be grown for more than one season (in our area the heat is a burden on this winter family). Here is a "Kale tree".
J. Just eating the sprouts of this family increases the amount of vitamins and minerals enormously. Vegetables of this family do us only good. Studies have shown that they are anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, help ulcers, cataracts, liver, and lower cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar…
K. Kohlrabi is really a wild cabbage that its developers liked the stalk better than the leaves. For years and years, kohlrabi developers saved seeds of cabbage plants that developed especially thick stalks until we got today’s kohlrabi.
L. Let's try a fun experiment – mix cabbage juice with baking soda or lemon juice and see what happens. The red pigment anthocyanin, changes color depending on the acidity of the solution it touches.
M. Mustards are common species in the same family that grow wild in our country and can be seen now flowering ubiquitously.
N. The name "broccoli" in Italian means branch or arm. The name describes the shape of the growth of this Roman/Italian vegetable.
O. Other vegetables as well, such as: turnip, Chinese cabbage and Bok-choy are all different varieties of the same species Brassica Rapa.
P. Pirates! I recommend that you eat sauerkraut on your long travels with no fresh foods containing vitamins. Vitamin deficiency causes various diseases and sauerkraut is one of the few foods that are not fresh but retain a wealth of vitamins and minerals over time. It is also probiotic and strengthens the immune system.
R. Roots, stems, leaves, blossoms. All parts of the plant in this family are edible and delicious! Eat the leaves of broccoli, radishes, turnips, cauliflower, kohlrabi….
S. Super food – Kale is considered as such. I think all of the daughters of the wild cabbage are super.
T. Tatsoi is also a member of this magnificent family.
U. Unhappy in the heat are members of this family, especially cauliflower and broccoli. When it is hot they feel distressed and develop a tall inflorescence, without developing the clustered head that we want to eat. Therefore, these are only winter crops when grown in an open organic garden.
V. Vitamin C is abundant in this family!!! Also vitamin A, B, iron, calcium and potassium.
W. White cabbage caterpillars and aphids are the major pests to this family. Now that it is warming up, I'm expecting them… We planted some of the cabbages near the coriander, a known repellent of the white cabbage caterpillars.
Wishing everyone a week abundant with bloom and wholesome, clean and strengthening food.
Health!
Yours,
Maggie and the garden staff
Expect to find in our organic vegetable baskets (draft only):
Kale
cucumber
Tomatoes
lettuce
Sweet Potatoes
Peppers
Fennel
Leeks
cauliflower
coriander
In the larger organic vegetable baskets, also:
Lettuce
broccoli
cabbage
Red chard
Organic fruit baskets;
Oranges
Bananas
Clementines
In the larger organic fruit baskets, also:
Sweeties
grapefruits
Sharante Melon 🙂
