Once upon a time there was a packet of cabbage seeds…

And that is where it all began, with this single packet of 1000 cabbage seeds.  They were all the same variety and being keen to avoid wasting them we planted some early then a few more every couple of weeks… and every time we brought one down to the kitchen the youngsters groaned ‘oh no, not more cabbage.  By the autumn the groan had become a moan, and we had joined in with the realisation that the remainder of the seeds would easily keep us going for another couple of years!  That is when we decided there had to be a better way of growing more variety, after all cabbages are versatile & nutritious whilst their adaptability and diversity has made them essential ingredients for many delicious recipes.

Now cabbage is an ancient vegetable: the earliest identified seeds of Brassica oleracea come from the Bronze Age, dated to 1500-1000 BCE.  Written evidence from Hippocrates (he of the Hippocratic oath fame) refers to the use of cabbage, or krambe, in a few recipes dating from around 360 BCE. 

The domesticated forms of B. oleracea, broccoli (var. italica), Brussels sprouts (var. gemmifera), cabbage (var. capitata), cauliflower (var. botrytis), collard (var. viridis), kale (var. acephala), kohlrabi (var. gongylodes) and savoy cabbage (var. sabauda) are all one species!  Indeed, it is not possible to identify those Bronze age seeds definitively as a cabbage that you or I might recognise.  The diversity of flavours, textures and colours that we know today, be it white, red, Chinese, savoy or cauliflower (no wonder our 1000 seeds made our hearts sink as the year progressed), might lead to thinking these had equally diverse origins but that is not the case.

Whilst Darwin studied cabbages whilst developing his theory of natural selection and the cultivation practices that led to the varied forms B. oleracea it wasn’t until 2021 that a scientific study utilising the latest DNA and gene identification techniques have pinned down the origins of the cabbage family to the Eastern Mediterranean.  They ‘discovered’ that the domestication of brassica is a complex story – with repeated domestication cross pollinating with wild & feral populations.  Feral in this context meaning a domesticated variety escaping back into the wild (just think about buddleia bushes going feral halfway up an old building).  The wild & feral populations acted as pools of diversity during further repeated selections & domestications.  Although this gene flow between wild and cultivated populations obscures the true evolution of Brassica oleracea it doesn’t hide it completely.

What is clear, from archaeological finds (such as identification of Brassica leaf waxes on pottery shards as well as seeds) and the written evidence, is the certainty that these most useful of veggies, and their seeds, were traded by the earliest Mediterranean civilizations. As peoples moved so they took useful plants and seeds with them.  And the ‘escapes’ to form feral populations elsewhere also continued.  An example of this being the endemic walking stick kale in the Canary Islands: now thought to be a feral escape from the earliest settlement as trade and human migration routes were established beyond the Mediterranean.

In Ancient Rome cabbage was a luxury.  Beyond being eaten it was also used for medicinal purposes – for gout and headaches, although some advised rinsing babies in cabbage-eaters urine.  Those Romans (and Ancient Egyptians) also ate large amounts of cabbage before imbibing which allowed them to drink more!  It was the Romans in particular, noted for their vast culinary knowledge, who helped spread cabbage throughout Europe. In the Middle Ages cabbage was a staple food of the poor, often eaten in soup and stew it was an essential food through the winter as it could be preserved. It was the 14thC when round cabbages first appeared in England – they appear in illuminated texts and were described as food of the poor and wealthy.  It was these round cultivars that became dominant in Europe from this time.  The first cabbages were taken to America between 1541-1542.  They became essential on voyages as beneficial for health long before their stores of vitamin C (which prevents scurvy) were understood.  Indeed it was well known by ships doctors that cabbage preserved in salt water (an early form of sauerkraut) could be used on wounds to prevent gangrene – its use was documented on the voyages of Cook.  All this movement of people, be it by ship, or long land trading routes such as the silk road spread those brassicas far and wide.  Around the world different varieties achieved greater popularity and its role in different cuisines also evolved - it can be eaten raw, as a salad, cabbage can be steamed, pickled, stewed, sautéed or braised. Sauerkraut and kimchi are the most popular pickled variants while the coleslaw is one of the most popular salads.

This almost global spread of Brassica oleracea has become even more relevant today: agriculturalists need sustainable and resilient crops that are better able to withstand drought and heat due to climate change.  With their fascinating diversity the cabbage family could be playing an even more important role in the future. You can eat the leaves (kale, heading cabbage), the stalks (kohlrabi), the axillary buds (Brussels sprouts) or the flowers (cauliflower, broccoli) and they grow on every continent bar Antarctica…where their vitamin C content means they remain an important part of the diet!

It is the fascinating diversity of plants, of edibles in particular, that we so wanted in our own garden and ultimately our kitchen.  Simply put 1000 seeds of anything is too many – especially if you are after variety in flavour. It was that desire for more variety that eventually became MoreVeg, and it was all because there once was a packet of cabbage seeds…   

Members of the Brassica oleracea family:

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Flower Sprout, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collard, Kale, & Kohl Rabi