When vegetables appeared, the history of vegetables. History of products: cabbage The healing properties of cabbage in ancient times in Rus'

White cabbage is a plant that belongs to the Cruciferous family. In many countries of the world, huge areas are allocated to grow it. This crop grows in moderately cool climates.

In the Russian Federation, a significant place is allocated for the cultivation of white cabbage. Thus, in Siberia and the Nechernozemie zone, it occupies a leading position in preference and covers 1/2 of all land for planting vegetables.

White cabbage, the history of its appearance

White cabbage originated from wild varieties growing in the strip of Eurasia, Africa, Western Europe. The history of this cultivated variety appeared thousands of years BC, in Ancient Spain. This country has become a pioneer in this industry. Local residents called the vegetable “ashchi”. He later went to conquer the Roman Empire, the Greek Republic and Egypt. Then he continued his “journey” through the South Caucasus and the Balkan countries. “The Collection of Svyatoslav,” an ancient reference manual of Kievan Rus, compiled in 1076, had a special, specific section that was devoted to instructions for the use and preservation of this plant. Scripture recalled it as an everyday, everyday product for the common man of those times, consumed as food.

The second homeland for cabbage is Russia. Since ancient times, Russian farmers were famous for their skill in cultivating it. At a product presentation in Vienna Agriculture, in 1875, E. A. Grachev received the medal “For Progress” in the propagation and cultivation of varieties. Grachev's heads of cabbage were up to 70 centimeters in cross section; they were dense in structure, with excellent taste and white color.

Nutritional value of white cabbage

• calorie content of cabbage - up to 30 kcal;
• proteins - from 1.8 grams;
• fat - from 0.1 grams;
• carbohydrates - from 4.7 grams;
• dietary fiber - from 2 grams;
• organic acids - from 0.3 grams;
• water - from 90 grams;
• mono- and disaccharides - from 4.6 grams;
• starch - from 0.1 grams;
• ash - from 0.7 grams.

The vegetable is rich in the following macroelements:

• Ca - from 48 mg;
• Mg - from 16 mg;
• Na - from 12.7 mg;
• K - from 30 mg;
• P - from 30 mg;
• Cl - from 37 mg;
• S - from 37 mg.

White cabbage and its vitamins

• beta Carotene - from 0.02 mg;
• retinol - from 3 mcg;
• thiamine - from 0.03 mg;
• riboflavin - from 0.04 mg;
• pantothenic acid - from 0.2 mg;
• pyridoxine - from 0.1 mg;
• folic acid - from 11 mcg;
• ascorbic acid - from 44 mg;
• tocopherols - from 0.1 mg;
• biotin - from 0.101 mcg;
• phylloquinone - from 75 mcg;
• nicotinic acid - 0.9 mg;
• B4 - from 10.5 mg.

Microelements present in cabbage

• Fe - 0.61 mg;
• Zn - 0.43 mg;
• Copper - from 76 mcg;
• Mg - from 0.16 mg;
• Se - from 0.3 μg;
• Cr - from 5.3 μg;
• P - from 10.3 μg;
• Mo - from 9.8 mcg;
• B - from 200 mcg;
• Cobalt - from 3.2 mcg;
• Al - from 568 mcg;
• Ni - from 16 mcg.

The benefits of white cabbage

White cabbage is a unique product, which in its composition has healing properties for human health. We all know well that the work of the human body is important and resembles a furnace that requires constant, systematic addition of fuel. And if you interfere with this “technological” process, then the entry of organic and inorganic compounds into the body will fail. Therefore, in order to maintain balance, we need to create a nutritional menu in an expedient manner to supply our body with the right range of foods. Useful qualities white cabbage:

• using a medium thermal effect, the presence of vitamin C in it increases, since ascorbigen is transformed into ascorbic acid;
• the upper, green foliage contains folic acids, which have a healing effect on the blood walls of blood vessels and metabolism in the body;
• H2O is retained in the human body due to the primary content of K salts over Na salts;
• Oxymanolic acids are a remedy for sclerosis. They help prevent the conversion of saccharides and prevent the accumulation of natural fatty alcohol. However, during thermal processing of vegetables, acids tend to be destroyed;
• the juice has a neutral pH value, which makes the vegetable useful for everyone who has a low level of acid in the stomach;
• has a positive effect on accelerating metabolism in the human body, due to the presence of a huge amount of vitamin B4;
• more than citruses and fruits contain grape sugar;
• In terms of fructose content, it will surpass onions, carrots, potatoes and citrus fruits;
• sauerkraut is a national treat of numerous countries. These include the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Poland, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Czech Republic. It is quite nutritious and healthy vegetable, which is obtained during the process of lactic acid fermentation. Microorganisms entering the intestines have a beneficial effect on its flora, dysbiosis goes away and the body is cleansed of decay processes;
• has antibacterial substances that have a detrimental effect on staphylococcus aureus, tuberculum and other harmful microorganisms;
• dietary fiber has a healing effect on metabolism and releases toxins from the body. Doctors recommend for overweight because the vegetable has low calorie content;
• In folk medicine, the stalk of white cabbage is used to make a decoction against cancer.

Method for preparing white cabbage infusion:

Cut the stalk into small pieces, pour in sunflower oil. Pour two tablespoons of tartar leaves into a glass of boiling water. Wrap both mixtures and leave for two hours. Then strain, stir and drink.

Harm from white cabbage

White cabbage should not be overeaten. If you eat a large amount, you may experience bloating, colic, and nausea. If you have pancreatitis, its use should be reduced to a minimum.

The therapeutic and preventive role of cabbage

If you notice that fatigue sets in quickly, the morning freshness “disappears” during lunch hours, you have to concentrate for a long time, you feel cold and quickly “catch” a cold - this indicates a lack of ascorbic acid in the body.

Vitamin C refers to organic compounds that are not reproduced by human cells, tissues and organs. We need to take it from the outside: in vegetable, fruit, berry and citrus crops.

With fresh, fermented or cooked cabbage, it is possible to fully compensate for the lack of vitamin C and restore a vigorous appearance and physical activity. Therefore, supplement your menu with all kinds of white cabbage products. When preparing this vegetable for the second meal, try to heat it as little as possible so that as much valuable and healthy vitamins as possible remain.

Fighting excess weight

Now we meet a huge number of people who have the problem of excess weight. Many who are trying to fight excess weight are interested in weight loss methods and have heard more than once that the hated excess weight You can lose it on a cabbage diet. It is really effective because disaccharides are present in vegetables in small doses. Vegetables have been proven to have components that help stimulate metabolism in the human body.

An organic substance, methylmethionine, found in white cabbage, will be useful for stomach and duodenum ulcers. Freshly squeezed juice is recommended by doctors for the same diagnoses.

For normal functioning gastrointestinal tract, the human body needs small amounts of nicotinic acid, which is found in white cabbage in sufficient quantities. The organic compound PP is preserved in it during conservation and the thermal effect.

White cabbage has healing properties and is useful for diabetes, difficulty in bowel movement, gastritis, and oncology. Quite often it is recommended to add it to your diet for people with low acidity stomach. Cabbage juice is useful for colds, as an expectorant. Eating cabbage affects the renewal of the structure of blood cells.

How to properly harvest and store cabbage? The most suitable time for harvesting cabbage is the last weeks of autumn. A suitable room for storing vegetables is a cellar. It has a fairly high percentage of humidity and low temperature readings. But in the current conditions of house construction, cellars are not often found. Therefore, to preserve vegetables, you can choose a ventilated room with a temperature of up to 5 degrees, in which there is high humidity.

Let's consider storage options for white cabbage:

• Most Popular simplest method– put vegetables in bags or boxes and store them in them. The disadvantage of this method is that the penetration of air masses into the vegetables is poor, so they can quickly rot, especially if they have not been well dried.
• You can construct a wooden rack and place cabbage on it in a pyramidal shape. In this way, an exchange of air flows occurs, but the negative point is the design itself, which does not provide the opportunity to choose specifically any one necessary vegetable.
• Fill the cellar with wooden shelves from floor to ceiling and store vegetables in a row on them.
• A great method for preserving cabbage is using sand. For this you will need a box or bag. Cabbage is placed in them and sprinkled with sand.
• A substitute for sand is old newspapers. You need to wrap all the heads of cabbage in newspapers, and then you can put them in any way you like.
• Modern housewives wrap cabbage in cling film. This method is good for preservation in refrigeration units.

History of cabbage

Cabbage was widely cultivated in the ancient world. IN Ancient Greece the famous physician Hippocrates (V-IV centuries BC) used cabbage to treat certain diseases and to improve health. By famous saying Pythagoras, "cabbage is a vegetable that maintains vigor and a cheerful, calm mood".

candidate of agricultural sciences Kostylev D.A.

Many legends and beliefs about the origin of cabbage, this valuable plant, have survived to this day. One of the oldest legends says that the heads of cabbage grew from the tears of the Thracian king, who was punished by Dionysus, the god of wine, because the king refused to recognize Dionysus as a deity. From the holes scorched by the royal tears in the ground, unprecedented plants appeared, the wide leaves of which immediately curled into heads of cabbage resembling a human head. Amazed and scared to death, the companions of Dionysus rushed in all directions, shouting in horror at the top of their lungs: “Capitum, capitum!”, that is, “Head, head!” Similar names have become established among other peoples - for example, Russian “cabbage”, Estonian “kapsas”, Mari “kavshta”.

The legend, of course, has nothing to do with the actual history of this wonderful vegetable plant, but it shows the antiquity of a common vegetable - cabbage. After all, if such a legend existed in Ancient Greece, it means that cabbage was well known to ancient farmers at that time. Scientists believe that cabbage evolved from leaf cabbage at the turn of our era. And there is no miracle in her appearance. People just noticed that some leaf forms are predisposed to curling leaves into forks and that such leaves are more juicy and tasty. They began to select “curdling” plants, collected seeds from them and sowed them. As a result of this selection we got necessary for a person shape - cabbage with a dense head of cabbage.

Archaeological and written monuments of antiquity indicate that people began to eat cabbage plants a very long time ago. Their seeds were found during excavations of pile buildings of the New Stone and Bronze Ages, that is, 5-3 millennia BC.

The Mediterranean region is considered to be the birthplace of cabbage. It is assumed that it was here that leafy forms of the cabbage plant began to be grown, and, perhaps a little later, kohlrabi and cauliflower that evolved from them. It was probably the ancient farmers of the Iberian and Apennine peninsulas who first began to grow cabbage. This assumption of scientists is supported by the fact that it is here that primitive (original) forms of this botanical species are still found in culture. Cabbage forms also evolved from kale as a result of centuries of selective breeding.

The first written information about the cultivation of cabbage comes from the papyri of the ancient Egyptians. Botanist from Russia V.L. Komarov believes that in Ancient Egypt this plant spread no earlier than the 6th century BC. Cabbage, as an already well-known vegetable, is described in the works of the ancient Greek physician and naturalist Hippocrates, who lived in the 5th-4th centuries before our era. There is a mention of the cultivation of cabbage in the works of the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle (IV century BC).

More specific instructions on the cultivation of kale are contained in the nine-volume History of Plants, compiled by the greatest botanist of antiquity, Theophrastus, whose activities date back to the 3rd century BC. During Ancient Rome the number of “tamed” cabbages has increased markedly.

Already in the 1st century AD, Roman vegetable growers, according to the scientist and writer of that time Pliny the Elder, used at least eight species, including several forms of leaf and cabbage, branched broccoli (a type of cauliflower) and, probably, kohlrabi.

The ancients highly valued the cabbage plant and considered it very useful product. Ancient doctors claimed that “children who eat cabbage every day become strong, strong and resistant to various diseases.”

The Southern Slavs (the ancestors of modern Bulgarians, Serbs, etc.), according to scientists, became acquainted with cabbage during the period of their settlement in the territory between the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black Seas, that is, in the VI-VII centuries of the new calendar. IN Western Europe They learned about it in the early Middle Ages. The first mention of this is in the decree of the Frankish king Charlemagne, who lived in 742-781, the so-called “Capitulary on Villas” - a kind of economic instruction.

However, cabbage acquired economic importance in Western Europe only in the late Middle Ages. In any case, information about its cultivation could be read in the treatise “On Plants,” written in 1256 by a German scientist nicknamed Albert the Great.

It is not known exactly when Russian vegetable growers began to grow the vegetable they later loved. Scientists suggest that cabbage appeared on the territory of the country back in the 7th-5th centuries BC. The first to grow it were farmers of Transcaucasia, where this plant came from Greek and then Roman settlers who developed the Black Sea coast.

From Transcaucasia, cabbage apparently penetrated into Kievan Rus, where by the 11th-12th centuries it was firmly established in vegetable gardens, and subsequently spread to Muscovy.

Of all the cabbage newcomers, of all the forms of cabbage, our ancestors most liked white cabbage, which soon became a traditional and beloved vegetable crop.

Documents indicate that in Rus' white cabbage was cultivated in vegetable gardens back in the 11th century. In the “Izbornik” of Svyatoslav, compiled in 1076, a kind of economic charter of those times, there is a special section devoted to the storage and use of white cabbage, and in the “Charter of Statutes” of the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavich, written in 1150, it is mentioned “... on the mountain vegetable garden with cabbage.”

A fairly detailed instruction on the methods of growing, storing and using cabbage for food purposes and for livestock feed is contained in the set of everyday rules and instructions of the 16th century “Domostroye”. This means that by the 16th century cabbage had become a common vegetable in Rus'. The rapid and almost universal spread of white cabbage is explained by the fact that this plant has many valuable economic qualities. It produces a high yield; the heads of cabbage are distinguished by their keeping quality, allowing you to have fresh cabbage on the table almost all year round.

Our ancestors knew how to use tight heads of cabbage in a variety of ways, which from ancient times became the basis of many Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Caucasian, and Central Asian national dishes. It is known, for example, that he really loved “boiling Russian cabbage soup.” great commander A.V. Suvorov and gave them preference even in hiking conditions. Since ancient times in Rus' they baked with hearth and eggs, made cabbage casseroles, and various solyankas. And even now these are our favorite dishes. Without a plate of Russian cabbage soup, Ukrainian or naval borscht, lunch is not lunch for us. Pies and pies with cabbage are an indispensable decoration in many families. festive table. And there is no need to talk about sauerkraut - not a single housewife or cook can do without it.

People have written a lot of proverbs, sayings, and riddles about cabbage: “Cabbage is not empty, it flies into the mouth,” “Bread and cabbage will not be tolerated,” “Eat cabbage soup - your neck will be white, your head will be curly,” “A hundred clothes and all without fasteners.” "

Many Russians are associated with white cabbage folk customs, everyday traditions. One of these traditions that existed in Rus' was the collective cutting of cabbage on the basis of mutual assistance. This was the most widespread form of neighborhood income in the village, in which main role young people played.

As soon as the harvesting of late cabbage began, a cheerful flock of village girls gathered every evening, alternately in one house or another, and helped their friends chop cabbage for pickling. Following the girls, young men appeared with gifts for the owners and their assistants. Cabbage cutting ended with round dances, comic songs and dances.

This unique youth holiday was called cabbage in the Yaroslavl province, in Perm - kapustyanka, in the regions of north-eastern Russia - cabbage.

White cabbage- biennial plant. People have been growing and using cabbage since the Stone and Bronze Ages. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans already knew from three to ten varieties of cabbage. The southern Slavic tribes first learned about cabbage from Greco-Roman colonists who lived in the Black Sea region. Over time, we became acquainted with this vegetable crop in Rus'.

Origin

Scientists suggest that white cabbage appeared on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, where, as a result of some mutation, it separated from wild mustard. In any case, already in ancient times cabbage was a typical root vegetable for the inhabitants of the Mediterranean.
At the same time, Transcaucasia and the Colchis Lowland in Georgia are sometimes called the birthplace of cabbage, where plants similar to cabbage, called “kezhera,” grow in abundance.

The nutritional value

The nutritional value of cabbage is determined by its composition, which varies somewhat depending on the variety. This vegetable contains nitrogenous substances 1.27-3.78%, carbohydrates 5.25-8.56%, and a small amount of fat 0.16-0.67. In addition, cabbage contains sugars, mineral salts(sulfur, calcium, potassium, phosphorus), fiber, lactose, lipase, protease and other enzymes, phytoncides, vitamins A, B1, B6, C, P, K, U. The nutritional value per 100 g of cabbage is only 24 kcal.

Use in cooking

There are many options for using cabbage in food. It is readily eaten both fresh and processed: stewed, boiled, fried, etc. It is included in salads, soups, and is used as a side dish for main courses. Cabbage is used as a filling for pies, and cabbage rolls are prepared from its leaves in Eastern Europe. Cabbage is salted, pickled, and fermented for future use. No wonder there was a proverb in Rus': “If there is cabbage, the table is not empty.”

Application in medicine and cosmetology

Cabbage is an incredibly healthy vegetable. First of all, it contains a significant amount of anti-ulcer vitamin U, and therefore cabbage leaf juice is useful in treatment and prevention peptic ulcer stomach and duodenum, gastritis and colitis.

In addition, cabbage is a source of indole-3-carbinol, which helps restore DNA chains in the body's cells and, accordingly, slows down the development of cancer cells. This substance is also useful in the adjuvant therapy of a rare disease, laryngeal papillomatosis, in which skin tumors affect oral cavity and throat.
Finally, cabbage juice, which has been known since ancient times and has become part of traditional medicine of all European peoples, promotes the healing of festering wounds. They say it perfectly heals the nipples of nursing women.

Cabbage leaves help remove cholesterol from the body. Cabbage juice reduces blood sugar, helps with constipation, and enhances the removal of excess fluid from the body.
Cabbage is included in all low-calorie diet menus.
In cosmetology, cabbage juice is used to rinse the face and prepare various cosmetic masks that have a rejuvenating, whitening effect and perfectly moisturize the skin.

Contraindications

Since cabbage has a laxative effect, its use is not recommended after surgery on the chest or abdominal cavities, for gastrointestinal bleeding, diarrhea and indigestion, pancreatitis, exacerbations of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Cabbage should be used with caution in acute enterocolitis accompanied by diarrhea. Restrictions on use sauerkraut associated with an excess of salt in it, due to which those suffering from peptic ulcers, pancreatitis, kidney diseases, liver, of cardio-vascular system It is better to refrain from consuming this product.

Interesting Facts
Cabbage is the closest relative of mustard, turnip and rutabaga.
The ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, who
thought highly of her medicinal properties. Among the more than 50 types of cabbage distributed throughout the world,
there is not a single American one: cabbage was not known in the New World until the arrival of Europeans.
There are many ornamental cabbage varieties native to Japan.