Cabbage was cultivated in culture by the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt. They served it for dessert, like a sweet dish. And Pythagoras believed that cabbage maintains a cheerful mood and good spirits.
In the genus of the Cruciferous family, which includes cabbage, there are more than 35 species. Different types of cabbage differ from each other in structure. Each species has many varieties. Most used and popular:
- white cabbage, - redhead;
- colored, - broccoli, - Brussels, - Savoyard, - kohlrabi, - Beijing, - Chinese (bok-choy).
Cabbage
Cabbage and red cabbage are the two most common types of cabbage. Biennial plants that form a head of cabbage already in the first year of life, releasing a rosette of leaves from the apical bud. Cabbage retains vitamins for up to eight months. In red cabbage, in addition to other vitamins and elements, cyanidin is contained, which regulates the degree of permeability of the walls of blood vessels and is used in the prevention of vascular diseases.
Savoy cabbage
It looks most like a white cabbage. But it has a green color, the surface of its leaves is bumpy, and the head of cabbage is looser. It contains more vitamins and nutrients than white cabbage.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is an annual plant. They eat only heads (twisted shoots of peduncles - that's why this cabbage is called "cauliflower"). She is early ripening, has dietary properties and excellent taste. It has soft fiber and is well absorbed by the body. It is useful for treating gastrointestinal diseases.
Broccoli
Broccoli is called "asparagus" because this variety of cauliflower does not form a dense head of cabbage like cauliflower. Its taste is more piquant and its texture is more oily than that of colored. She's pretty hardy. It has a powerful stem. It forms heads not only on the peduncles, but also in the leaf axils, so you can get two harvests from it per season. Broccoli, unlike cabbage, is rich in proteins and trace elements. This vegetable has the property of preventing the accumulation of cholesterol in the body.
Brussels sprouts
Also a biennial plant. It is considered a delicacy for its unique taste and aroma. It has an unusual structure - small heads of cabbage are formed in the axils of the leaves along the entire stem. It is one and a half times more caloric than white cabbage. Brussels sprouts grow and bear fruit until December, without fear of frost. And it keeps all its properties frozen.
Kohlrabi
This species forms a stem crop, similar in appearance to a turnip, and in taste to a cabbage stump. Cultivated as an annual crop. It is valued for its high content of vitamins, especially C and B group.
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Peking cabbage and Chinese cabbage (bok choi) are leafy vegetables. It is convenient to use them in salads. They contain protein, pectins, citric acid, mineral salts and a number of vitamins.
