Cabbage - kyabetsu (English spelling) cabbage

Japanese: キャベツ - きゃべつ（英語表記）cabbage

A biennial plant of the Brassicaceae family (APG classification: Brassicaceae). It is also called Tamana (ball vegetable) or Kanran (sweet indigo). It has a thick, short stem with peony-like leaves at the top of the stem. The leaves are smooth, fleshy, wide and pale green with a whitish powdery hue. As it grows, the leaves grow densely in the center and form a head. The leaves inside this head are edible. As it grows further, the head opens, producing flower stalks and pale yellow four-petaled flowers in a raceme.

Native to the coastal areas of southern Europe, wild species have been used since prehistoric times. Wild species are non-heading, and records of heading cabbages appear from the end of the 8th century onwards. In the 13th century, it spread widely throughout Europe, and breeding progressed especially in England, France, Germany and the Netherlands. It was introduced to Japan in Nagasaki by the Dutch in the early 18th century. It is described as a barbarian species called Orandana in Yamato Honzo (1709). According to the description in the book, the introduced species was non-heading or semi-heading, and was a reddish purple variety. It is written as "Ajiyoshi", but it was not developed as food, and was cultivated for decorative purposes, which gave birth to Habotan. Heading cabbage was first cultivated during the Ansei era at the end of the Edo period, around 1855 (Ansei 2). In the early Meiji period, Western varieties were introduced by Shinjuku Gyoen, Mita Breeding Station, and the Hokkaido Development Agency, but they were not suited to the Japanese climate, so from the Taisho to Showa periods, through the efforts of private breeders, varieties suited to the Japanese climate were developed. Today, depending on the combination of variety, cultivation method, and cultivation area, they are shipped year-round.

Cabbages are divided into spring cabbage, summer/autumn cabbage, and winter cabbage depending on the sowing and harvesting periods. Spring cabbage is sown in September or October, overwintered as seedlings, and harvested the following year from late spring to early summer. It is mainly produced in prefectures around large cities, such as Chiba, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, Aichi, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima. The varieties used are Nakano Wase and Succession, which are good quality and form heads easily. Summer/autumn cabbage is sown from February to June and harvested from June to September. It is mainly produced in highland areas such as Tsumagoi in Gunma Prefecture and the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains in Nagano Prefecture, as well as Hokkaido, with Gunma Prefecture accounting for 50% of the nation's summer/autumn cabbage production. Copenhagen Market and yellow-leaf Succession varieties are used for sowing in the cooler months of February to April, while Sapporo and Nanbu varieties are used for sowing in April to June. The Leaf Deep variety, introduced from Taiwan after World War II, contributed to the establishment of autumn-harvesting cultivation in warmer regions. Winter cabbage is sown between June and August and harvested from October to April of the following year. As the heads rot due to the cold in the Kanto region and north, it is mainly produced in relatively warm areas, with much production in the Atsumi Peninsula of Aichi Prefecture, Kagoshima, Chiba, Ibaraki, and other regions. Nanbu, black-leaf Succession, and Leaf Deep varieties are used.

Today, most cabbage varieties are hybrids, and fixed varieties are no longer in use.

For cultivation, seedlings are grown and then planted in fields; when the seedlings reach a certain size, they are exposed to low temperatures which causes flower buds to differentiate. Subsequent high temperatures and long days promote the elongation of the flower stalks and flowering, so care must be taken to prevent spring cabbage and summer/autumn cabbage, which grow in low temperatures during their seedling stage, from bolting. The relationship between seedling age and sensitivity to low temperatures varies by variety; some varieties are sensitive to low temperatures even when they have only two or three true leaves, while others are not sensitive to low temperatures even when they have 12 or 13 true leaves. Damage from pests is common, with caterpillars and cutworms eating the leaves, and aphids sucking the juices from the leaves. Cutworms and mole crickets eat the roots at the seedling stage, while pillbugs and slugs eat the stems and leaves.

[Hoshikawa Kiyochika November 13, 2020]

Cultural history

In Greece, Pythagoras preached about the benefits of cabbage and attempted to improve its varieties. In his Treatise on Agriculture (160 BC), the Roman Cato the Elder praised cabbage's ability to aid digestion and listed three varieties, one of which he described as having leaves that overlapped to form a large ball, suggesting that it had a head-forming ability. It is unclear when it was introduced to Asia, but there is a story that Alexander the Great fed it to his soldiers, so it is highly likely that it was brought there during his expeditions. It was introduced to Taiwan by the Dutch in the 17th century. It was first cultivated by private citizens in Japan in 1872 (Meiji 5) by Tsuda Sen, and at the time it was called kanran and sold for 1 shu each.

In medieval Scotland, on the eve of All Saints' Day on November 1st, unmarried young men would hold divination sessions to choose their future spouses in fields of kale (the ancestor of cabbage) after the harvest. Men and women would close their eyes and pull out kale from the field, and the size and curvature of the stalks would tell the physique of the person, and the taste of the cut stalks would tell the lover's mood. The popular belief that babies are found in cabbage fields may be influenced by this event, where unmarried men and women would gather in these kale fields and marry.

[Hiroshi Yuasa November 13, 2020]

Food

All cabbages today are head-forming, but there are varieties of each type, such as flat (oblate globule) or upright (cylindrical) heads, and in addition to green-leaved varieties, there are also purple cabbages with reddish purple leaves and wrinkled chilimen cabbages. They are used in a variety of dishes, whether Japanese, Western, or Chinese, including raw, stewed, pickled, sauerkraut (also called sauerkraut, a type of pickled cabbage), and stir-fried. In recent years, varieties with soft leaves and greenish leaves suitable for raw consumption, and those with small heads, have tended to be preferred. Per 100 grams, they contain 1.4 grams of protein, 18 micrograms of vitamin A as carotene, 0.05 milligrams each of _B1 and _B2 , and 44 milligrams of C. Demand for purple cabbage and red-leaved red cabbage for salads has been increasing in recent years. Chilimen cabbage is a variety of cabbage that originated in the Savoy region of France and is also called Savoy cabbage. Its leaves are green and shrunken and are primarily eaten raw. It is widely used and produced in Europe and the United States, and is gaining attention in Japan as well. Other cabbage species include kale, which does not form a head and whose leaves are eaten by plucking them off one by one; kohlrabi, which has a turnip-like corm that is eaten; and Brussels sprouts, which have numerous side shoots that become small corms and can be eaten whole. Hakuran is an interspecific amphidiploid hybrid between Chinese cabbage and kanran (cabbage), and has intermediate characteristics between its parents. Its leaves are softer than cabbage and are suitable for eating raw, as well as for simmered and pickled dishes.

[Hoshikawa Kiyochika November 13, 2020]

"Vegetable Gardening Encyclopedia 8" (1989), edited and published by the Rural Culture Association

Cabbage (green ball type)
©Shogakukan ">

Cabbage (green ball type)

Purple cabbage
©Shogakukan ">

Purple cabbage

Chili pepper cabbage
©Shogakukan ">

Chili pepper cabbage

Chilimen cabbage (cavolo nero)
Non-heading chili pepper ©Shogakukan ">

Chilimen cabbage (cavolo nero)

Brussels sprouts
©Shogakukan ">

Brussels sprouts

Sprouts (red cabbage)
©Shogakukan ">

Sprouts (red cabbage)

Cabbage Flower
As it grows, the leaf head opens, producing flower stalks and pale yellow, four-petaled flowers in racemes. ©Shogakukan ">

Cabbage Flower

Cabbage head
It is the most common leafy vegetable, cultivated and used widely around the world. The leaves inside the head are edible. The photo shows a flat (spherical) cabbage. ©Shogakukan ">

Cabbage head

Cabbage cultivation
Depending on the combination of variety, cultivation method, and cultivation area, it is shipped year-round. ©Shogakukan Photo by Hideyuki Asakura ">

Cabbage cultivation

Distribution and spread of wild cabbage ancestors
©Shogakukan ">

The distribution and spread of wild cabbage species…

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

アブラナ科（APG分類：アブラナ科）の越年草。タマナ（球菜）、カンラン（甘藍）ともいう。茎は太くて短く、茎頂にボタンの花状に葉をつける。葉は平滑、肉厚で幅が広く、白粉を帯びた淡緑色、成長するにつれて中心部に葉が密生し、結球する。この葉球の内部の葉を食用とする。さらに成長すると、葉球が開き、花茎を出して淡黄色の4弁花を総状花序につける。

　ヨーロッパ南部の海岸地域原産で、野生種は有史以前から利用されていた。野生種は非結球性で、結球性のキャベツの記録が現れるのは8世紀末以降である。13世紀には広くヨーロッパに広まり、とくにイギリス、フランス、ドイツ、オランダで品種改良が進んだ。日本への渡来は、18世紀初めころオランダ人によって長崎にもたらされた。『大和本草(やまとほんぞう)』（1709）に蛮種紅夷菘(おらんだな)と記載されている。同書の記述によると、渡来したものは非結球性ないし半結球性で、紅紫色の系統であったらしい。「味佳(あじよし)」と記されているが、食用として発達せず、観賞用に栽培されてハボタンが生まれた。結球性のキャベツが初めて栽培されたのは幕末、安政年間に入ってからで1855年（安政2）ころである。明治初年に新宿御苑(ぎょえん)、三田育種場、北海道開拓使などにより欧米の品種が導入されたが、日本の気候に適合せず、大正から昭和にかけて、民間育種家の努力により、日本の気候に適した品種が育成された。今日では、品種と栽培法、栽培地の組合せにより、周年出荷されている。

　キャベツは播種(はしゅ)、収穫期の違いによって、春キャベツ、夏秋キャベツ、冬キャベツに分けられる。春キャベツは9～10月に播種し、苗で越冬して翌年の晩春から初夏にかけて収穫する。主産地は千葉、神奈川、茨城、愛知、兵庫、福岡、熊本、鹿児島など大都市周辺の諸県である。品種は結球が容易で品質のよい中野早生(わせ)やサクセッションの系統のものが用いられる。夏秋キャベツは2～6月に播種し、6～9月に収穫する。群馬県の嬬恋(つまごい)や長野県の八ヶ岳(やつがたけ)山麓(さんろく)など高冷地や北海道が主産地で、群馬県は全国の夏秋キャベツ生産の5割を占める。品種は、2～4月の低温期播(ま)きには、コペンハーゲン・マーケットや黄葉系サクセッションの系統、4～6月播きには札幌や南部の系統が用いられる。なお、第二次世界大戦後に台湾から導入された品種の葉深(ようしん)は、暖地の秋どり栽培の作型の確立に貢献した。冬キャベツは、6～8月に播種し、10月から翌年4月にかけて収穫する。関東地方以北では寒さのために球が腐敗するので、比較的暖地が主産地で、愛知県の渥美(あつみ)半島、鹿児島、千葉、茨城などで生産が多い。品種は、南部、黒葉系サクセッション、葉深などの系統が用いられる。

　なお、今日、キャベツの品種のほとんどが一代雑種になっており、固定品種は使われない。

　栽培は、苗を育てて畑に定植する方法がとられ、一定の大きさに達した苗が低温にあうことによって花芽が分化する。その後の高温と長日によって花茎の伸長と開花が促進されるので、幼苗期を低温で経過する春キャベツや夏秋キャベツは、とう立ちしないよう注意が必要である。苗齢と低温感受性の関係は品種によっても異なり、本葉2、3枚の苗から低温に感応する品種もあり、本葉12、13枚の苗でも低温に感応しない品種もある。害虫による被害が多く、アオムシやヨトウムシは葉を食害し、アブラムシ類は葉の汁を吸う。ネキリムシやケラは幼苗期の根を、ダンゴムシやナメクジは茎葉を食害する。

［星川清親　2020年11月13日］

文化史

ギリシアでは、ピタゴラスがその効用を説くとともに品種改良を試みている。ローマの大カトーは『農業論』（前160）のなかで、キャベツの消化促進作用を賞賛し、また3品種をあげるが、その一つは葉が重なり合って大きな球になっていると述べられ、結球性がうかがえる。アジアへの渡来ははっきりしないが、アレクサンドロス大王が兵士に食べさせた話が伝えられているので、その遠征中にもたらされた可能性が強い。台湾には、17世紀にオランダ人によって伝えられた。日本での民間栽培は、津田仙(つだせん)が1872年（明治5）に手がけたのが最初で、当時は甘藍(かんらん)とよばれて1個1朱(しゅ)の値で売られたという。

　中世のスコットランドでは、11月1日の万聖節の前夜に未婚の青年たちが、収穫の終わったケール（キャベツの祖型）畑で未来の配偶者を選ぶ占いをした。目をつぶった男女が畑のケールを引き抜き、その茎の大小や曲がりぐあいで体格を、また切り取った茎の味で気だてを占ったという。キャベツ畑から赤ん坊を拾ってくるという俗説には、このケール畑で未婚の男女が集い、結ばれるという行事の影響も考えられる。

［湯浅浩史　2020年11月13日］

食品

今日のキャベツはすべて結球性であるが、球の形により平型（扁球(へんきゅう)形）や立型（円筒形）など、また葉の緑色のもののほかに紅紫色のムラサキキャベツ、あるいは葉にしわが多いチリメンキャベツなどがあり、それぞれ品種がある。和風、洋風、中華風を問わず、生食(せいしょく)、煮物、漬物、サワークラウト（ザウアークラウトともいう。一種の酢漬け）、油炒(いた)めなど、さまざまな料理に用いられる。近年は、生食向きに葉質が柔らかく、葉色が緑色系の品種や、葉球の小ぶりのものが好まれる傾向がある。100グラム当り、タンパク質1.4グラム、ビタミンAはカロチンで18マイクログラム、B₁、B₂をそれぞれ0.05ミリグラム、Cを44ミリグラム含んでいる。ムラサキキャベツや葉が赤色のアカキャベツはサラダ用に近年需要が増加している。チリメンキャベツはキャベツの1変種で、フランスのサボア地方が起源なのでサボイキャベツともよばれ、葉は緑色で縮み、主として生食用で、欧米では利用が多く、生産も盛んで、日本でも注目されつつある。キャベツの仲間には、非結球で次々に葉をむしり取って食べるケール、カブのような球茎を食べるコールラビー、多数の側芽が小さな球葉になり、まるごと食べられるメキャベツなどがある。ハクランはハクサイとカンラン（キャベツ）の種間雑種複二倍体で、両親の中間的特性をもっている。葉質はキャベツより柔らかく、生食に適しており、煮物や漬物にもよい。

［星川清親　2020年11月13日］

『農山漁村文化協会編・刊『野菜園芸大百科8』（1989）』