Cabbage: A Global History

Description

Cabbage has as many faces as it does leafy furbelows. How could a vegetable be so beloved, so universal, and at the same time so disdained? One of the oldest crops in the world, cabbage has for millennia provided European and Asian peoples with vitamins A and C . . . and babies—a belief lent credence by folktales about infants found “under a cabbage leaf” as well as contemporary Cabbage Patch Kids. Cabbage is both a badge of poverty and an emblem of national pride; a food derided as cheap, common, and crass, and an essential ingredient in iconic dishes from sauerkraut to kimchi. Cabbage is also easy to grow, because it contains sulfurous compounds that repel insect pests in the wild—and human diners who smell its distinctive aroma. We can’t live without cabbage, but we don’t want to stand downwind of it, and in this lively book, Meg Muckenhoupt traces this culinary paradox. From senators’ speeches in ancient Rome to South Korean astronauts’ luggage, she explores the cultural and chemical basis for cabbage’s smelly reputation and enduring popularity. Filled with fascinating facts and recipes for everything from French cabbage soup to sauerkraut chocolate cake, Cabbage is essential reading for both food lovers and historians around the globe—and anyone craving their daily dose of leafy greens. Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 Imprint Page......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 1: Cabbage in the Garden of Eden......Page 8 2: The Cabbage of Fact and Dreams......Page 33 3: The Older the Better......Page 61 4: The Food of the People (and Their Cows)......Page 79 5: Our Cabbage, Right or Wrong......Page 94 6: The Future of Cabbage......Page 110 Recipes......Page 116 Select Bibliography......Page 128 Websites and Associations......Page 132 Acknowledgements......Page 134 Photo Acknowledgements......Page 136 Index......Page 138