Cabbage - History

History

Although cabbage has an extensive history, it is difficult to trace its exact origins owing to the many varieties of leafy greens classified as "brassicas". The wild ancestor of cabbage was originally found in Britain and continental Europe. It was probably domesticated later in history than Near East crops such as peas and summer wheat. Because of the wide range of crops developed from the wild B. oleracea, multiple domestications of cabbage may have occurred in the same time period throughout Europe. Nonheading cabbages and kale were probably the first to be domesticated, sometime before 1000 BC, and the Greeks and Romans had some variety of cabbage, although whether it was more closely related to today's cabbage or to one of the other Brassica crops is unknown. The Greeks and Romans claimed medicinal usages for their cabbage variety that included relief from gout, headaches and the symptoms of poisonous mushroom ingestion. Rounded cabbages made a definite appearance during the Dark Ages, and illustrations show their prominence in the cuisine of the Middle Ages. Cabbages spread from Europe into Mesopotamia and Egypt, and later followed trade routes throughout Asia and the Americas.

During the 16th century, German gardeners developed the savoy cabbage. During the 17th and 18th centuries, cabbage was a food staple in such countries as Germany, England and Russia, and pickled cabbage was frequently seen. Saurkraut was used by Dutch sailors to prevent scurvy during long ship voyages. Jacques Cartier first brought cabbage to the Americas in 1541–42, and it was probably planted in what is now the United States by the early colonists, despite the lack of written evidence of its existence there until the mid-17th century. By the 18th century, it was commonly planted by both colonists and native American Indians. Cabbage seeds traveled to Australia in 1788 with the First Fleet, and were planted the same year on Norfolk Island. It became a favorite vegetable of Australians by the 1830s and was frequently seen at the Sydney Markets.

There are several Guinness Book of World Records records related to cabbage. These include the heaviest cabbage, at 57.61 kilograms (127.0 lb), heaviest red cabbage, at 19.05 kilograms (42.0 lb), longest cabbage roll, at 15.37 metres (50.4 ft), and the largest cabbage dish, at 925.4 kilograms (2,040 lb). In 2012, Scott Robb of Palmer, Alaska, broke the world record for heaviest cabbage at 138.25 lbs.