I like produce. I like to grow it. I like to eat it. I like to create recipes with it. I’m also kind of a nerd and like to get to know my produce. I like learning new or fun tidbits of info about the produce I’m growing/eating/baking. If you’re a weirdo like me then buckle up for this new series as I dive into a plethora of produce facts and share them with you. Here we go:
1. Cabbage is like the grandfather of veggies. It’s one of the oldest vegetables in existence {over 1000 years old!} and people throughout the world just keep on eating it so it shows no sign of stopping.
2. Sauerkraut is a dish made from fermented cabbage. Dutch sailors used to eat it on long journeys to prevent scurvy.
3. In ancient China people believed cabbage was a magic cure-all for bald men.
4. Rid yourself of that terrible migraine by drinking raw cabbage juice daily, or placing a warm compress filled with crushed cabbage on your forehead. Hey, whatever works!
Recipe for Friend Cabbage with Bacon
5. The largest cabbage dish ever made was on 19 December 2008 in the Macedonian city of Prilep, with 80,191 cabbage rolls weighing 1,221 lbs.
6. Ditch the aluminum when cooking cabbage! It might cause a chemical reaction that discolors the vegetables and also alters the flavor.
7. China is the largest manufacturer of cabbage, while Russia consumes the most cabbage in the world.
8. Cabbage {applied externally} helps with slow healing wounds. Compresses made of fresh cabbage leaves are especially effective in cases of wounds on the tibia.
Recipe for Crock Pot Pork Roast with Sauerkraut
9. Various antioxidants present in cabbages protect skin from damaging especially from UV light.
10. Cabbage is also often applied to the face to clear up acne prone skin!
Had you heard any of those fun facts before? Do you have any of your own to add? Is there a particular produce item you want to know more about? I take requests!
Grow on,
Mavis
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Rosaleen says
Kimchi is considered by many to be Korea’s national dish and may be eaten at every meal. It is fermented spicy Napa cabbage. Some sort of fermented/pickled cabbage was common in at least parts of Europe, Asia, and South America for hundreds of years. Fermenting increases bioavailability of nutrients and may actually increase some of them. Learning to ferment food helped not only preserve foods beyond the growing season, but meant better health for propke due to a more varied diet compared to eating only what could be found in the off seasons.
Nora says
You can use cabbage leaves when nursimg your child: keep the leaves in the fridge, just crush them a bit with a rolling pin and put them in your bra. Helps against sore nippels and naturally cools the breast.
Happy breast feeding!
Nora says
nursiNg … sorry for the typo. Autocorrection from different language.
Jennifer says
I was coming to add this as it was a lifesaver for me when I nursed our three children. Mine cracked and bled all three times and this was very soothing.
Leslie says
The lactation consultant recommended using cabbage leaves under ice packs to sooth when my milk came in and I was very engorged for a few days. She said it’s just a myth that it will make your milk dry up for you do it too often. I was happy to use it nonstop!
Laurel says
Be careful, it can also reduce your milk supply.
LaToya says
Last year we had like a half a head of cabbage left and were having some people over and sautéed that with onions and bacon – like we like – and added it to the table, and I was shocked at how much people liked it. I didn’t think that many people liked cabbage.
Also – no more daily deals? I like to see the Subscribe & Save stuff as I do an order for myself and send a box to my aged aunt out of state every month.
Martha Harris says
Have you read the book “How Carrots Won the Trojan War” by Rebecca Rupp? We’re reading it now as a homeschool study and it’s awesome. Each chapter covers a different vegetable’s history. And it’s really funny.
Mama Cook says
Thanks for the suggestion! We homeschool as well and that sounds like a fun read! (Whether or not one homeschools!)
joely says
I second the vote for cabbage for painful breasts related to early breastfeeding. Once feeding is established keeping a head of cabbage in the fridge and pulling out leaves after each nursing session to soothe sore breasts was a lifesaver; natural and easy to toss to the compost pile once they turned warm.