Speaking of Cabbages...

Okay, so maybe no one was actually speaking of cabbages!

But this is a special edition dedicated to my VA friends, Mr. James, Ms Page and all the children, and of course, Ms Mabel. The rest of you are welcome to wander through, too - you might learn something interesting!











Cabbages and Roses

I wonder if the cabbage knows

He is less lovely than the Rose;

Or does he squat in smug content,

A source of noble nourishment.

Or if he pities for her sins

The Rose who has no vitamins;

Or if the one thing his green heart knows --

That self-same fire that warms the Rose?
Anonymous



So how about we look at some interesting
Cabbage Facts?

~According to the USDA, U.S. recent cabbage production was 2.4 billion pounds. California growers led with with 466 million pounds, New York was second with 456 million pounds.

~Americans consume about 387 million pounds of sauerkraut annually.



~The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.


~The Greek poet, Homer (who lived around 850 BC), mentions Achilles washing cabbages, in his epic poem the 'Iliad.'



~The world record for eating cabbage is held by Charles Hardy. He ate 6 pounds 9 ounces in 9 minutes.



Wow - who knew all that? Who would even need to know, right?



You can find cabbages in your local supermarket (above) organic food stores, or even at farmer's markets. (left)








Cabbage as Food:

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C. It also contains significant amounts of glutamine, an amino acid that has anti-inflammatory properties. Cabbage can also be included in dieting programs as it is an extremely low calorie food.

It is delicious in soups,






cooked as a pot of corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's day,

prepared fresh as a side-dish or added to salads.

For centuries it has been preserved and pickled as Sauerkraut. Have a delicious Reuben sandwich or a dish of sausages and kraut. And what hot dog would be complete without it?


One of the most favorite uses of cabbage is for Cole Slaw salad, fresh or with a creamy mayo dressing. YUM!!!

Fire & Brimstone

Unfortunately cabbage also has the ability to cause - shall we say - gastric emissions of the most unpleasant kind. Jane Grigson in "Vegetable Book" published in 1978 said:

“Cabbage as a food has problems. It is easy to grow, a useful source of greenery for much of the year. Yet as a vegetable it has original sin, and needs improvement. It can smell foul in the pot, linger through the house with pertinacity, and ruin a meal with its wet flab. Cabbage also has a nasty history of being good for you.”


One very important rule to remember - NEVER STEAM IT IN THE MICRO-WAVE OVEN!!!

It can be easily forgotten which causes the cabbage to burn. Odors offend most of those who share the house and could be a possible fire danger!




Places Called Cabbagetown

Cabbagetown, Toronto

This city was formed in the 1840's by poor Irish immigrants who left Ireland during the Great Potato Famine. They planted their front yards with easy-to-grow cabbages as a primary food source. Although at first just a nickname it later became official. Writer Hugh Garner shared his recollection of growing up there during the Great Depression in his book "Cabbagetown Remembered".

Cabbagetown has one of the most oldest and best preserved Victorian housing in North America. Today the area has evolved into a trendy upscale area with profession offices, doctors and lawyers, restaurants and shops serving the elite of the nearby University of Toronto.

Cabbagetown, Georgia

This is actually a section of historic downtown Atlanta. During the Civil War, General Sherman led his Union forces against Atlanta on July 22, 1864. Confederate General Hood suffered heavy losses, losing up to half his forces in death or prisoners. The bloody hard-fought battle went on until Sherman raised his flag in triumph on September 2, 1864.

The area remained in ruins until rebuilding began under the Reconstruction Era. Its recovery came in 1881 as the first cotton mills in the South were formed here; Atlanta Rolling Mill and Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill.

Poor Appalachian immigrants were brought in to work the mills. The owner provided cheap shotgun houses and many of the families planted cabbages which grew quickly in the Southern climate. The distinctive smell of processing the cotton permeated the air around the mills. Prejudice against the poor immigrants caused people to blame the smell on the cabbage grown there. The name "Cabbagetown" was intended as a negative slang. But the area residents took pride in their work and community and officially adopted the name!

Cabbage Roses

There are actually beautiful cultivars of roses known as the cabbage rose. They are a hybrid rose developed by Dutch rose breeders in the period between the 1600s and the 1800s. Individual plants are shrubby in appearance, growing to 1.5-2 m tall, with long drooping canes and grayish green pinnate leaves with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are round and globular, with numerous thin overlapping petals that are highly scented; they are usually pink, less often white to dark red-purple.
Finally - cabbages that actually smell good!!

Cabbage Funnies

"Cabbage: A vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head."Ambrose Bierce, American writer (1842-1914)




Okay, this next one is a bit naughty....

Ever wonder what could be so amusing about a 19th Century Medical book:
This the poor chap was nicknamed the cabbage man. We can only speculate that some mischievous medical students were given the task of setting up the photographs to illustrate a nasty skin condition for this very serious medical tome. Perhaps they were instructed to find a way of preserving the patient’s modesty and unable to find a fig leaf, they improvised. Quite cleaver indeed!



Medicinal Uses of the Cabbage

We probably got Ms Mabel's attention with the last picture, but think she will be most interested in this segment. She likes to find helpful uses for vegetables.

~Cato the Censor (234-149 BC) mentions several medicinal uses for cabbage, including treating infected wounds.

~In European folk medicine, cabbage leaves are used to treat acute inflammation. A paste of raw cabbage may be placed in a cabbage leaf and wrapped around the affected area to reduce discomfort.

~ Fresh cabbage juice has been shown to promote rapid healing of peptic ulcers.

However, large consumption of cabbage can interfere with the body's ability to absorb iodine.


Sears advertisement circa 1930

Cabbage Glass

The term Depression Glass refers to manufactured glassware that was produced from the 1920's, through around the early 1940s, ie. the era of the Great Depression until the end of WW2. What we have come to know as Depression Glass was cheaply mass-produced, mould pressed, colorful and highly patterned glass that was sold at very low prices. These items would also be included in soap or cereal boxes, or might be given away at a local movie theater or gas station to promote sales. In fact, one glass manufacturer, Hazel Atlas, was saved from bankruptcy during the Depression years when it received an order from Quaker Oats for five Railroad Cars of glass.

One of the most popular patterns among collectors of Depression glass for its timeless and classic beauty, the Sharon pattern, also known as Rose of Sharon or Cabbage Rose, was produced by the Federal Glass Company from 1935 until 1939. It was made in pink, green, amber and a few clear pieces.

I personally inherited a piece of the more rare green from my Grandmother Goddard.

The Cabbage Head Song

Now you know I couldn't resist finding a piece of music called "The Cabbage Head Song"!

It seems that it evolved from an old Irish drinking song known as "Seven Drunken Nights". The verses tell of a conversation between an angry wife and her husband regarding his whiskey fueled escapades. Today you can hear many versions by such artists as the Fiddlin'Foresters

or Doc Watson on the album "Folk Masters." Perhaps one of the funniest was recorded by Ruth Brown, a jazz singer, in 1999 at age 70. She changed the roles of husband and wife and hints that perhaps the husband is falsely accusing her of infidelity. She attests that he only saw a cabbage head next to her on the pillow. The husband replies that he has "never seen a cabbage with a mustache" before. Her version can be found on the album "Good Day For the Blues".

This is the End!

There now, wasn't that a fun romp through Little Known and useless Facts? You probably didn't know one person could waste...er.. spend so much time hunting down these interesting tidbits!
Just please remember -

PLEASE, DO NOT MICRO-WAVE CABBAGE!!!

You don't want to known as "Old Stinky"!!!

(c) CHRobinson April 21, 2010