17th February: World Cabbage Day

Cabbage, aka Brassica oleracea is one of the oldest vegetables known to man. Here are 10 things you may not know about cabbage:

1. Cabbage is good for you. Here's why: 150 grams of shredded raw cabbage contains 190% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C; 150 grams of shredded, boiled cabbage contains 91% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin K. It is also a a good source of calcium, Potassium, magnesium and fibre. As they are 90% water they are low in calories.
2. The country that consumes the most cabbage per person is Russia. People there eat on average 20kg of cabbage a year. In fact, it is considered their national food. Garden plots planted with kopusta, or cabbage would be given as tributes by Russian princes, alongside things like jewels or racehorses. The countries that produce the most cabbage (and related veggies) are China and India.
3. Scott Robb of Palmer, Alaska, broke the world record for the heaviest cabbage at 62.71 kilograms (138.25 lb) in 2012. The largest cabbage dish ever made was in 2008 in the Macedonian city of Prilep, with 80,191 sarmas (cabbage rolls) weighing 544 kg (1,221 lbs).
4. US baseball legend Babe Ruth used to wear a cabbage leaf under his hat during games, changing it for a new leaf at half time.
5. Eating cabbage or other greens is considered good luck on New Year's Eve because the green leaves are representative of money.
6. According to Roman mythology, cabbages sprang from the tears of Lycurgus, King of the Edonians.
7. There is also an old tale that the Man on the Moon was banished there for being caught stealing a cabbage from his neighbour on Christmas Eve. 
8. Cabbage has been used as a cure for many ailments, including gout, headaches, baldness, rheumatism, sore throat, colic, and melancholy. The Ancient Greeks used it as a laxative, for eye salves and liniments to help bruises heal. Cato the Elder suggested that women could prevent diseases by bathing in urine from someone who had eaten a lot of cabbage. Roman nobleman Pliny the Elder recommended it as a hangover cure, and Ancient Egyptians ate cooked cabbage at the beginning of meals to reduce the intoxicating effects of Wine.The leaves were used in Britain as a treatment for trench foot in World War I, and as compresses for ulcers and abscesses. Sauerkraut was used by Dutch sailors to prevent scurvy during long sea voyages. Captain Cook also swore by it. His ship doctor used it for compresses to prevent gangrene. Salted boiled cabbage was added to the rice given to workers on the Great Wall of China, to give them strength and endurance.
9. There is no Sanskrit or other ancient Eastern language word for cabbage, which suggests that it was introduced to South Asia relatively recently. In Chinese, the word for "vegetable" is choi, which is the same as the word for cabbage. 
10. Frankish king Charlemange cultivated cabbage in his garden.