Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
A terminal bud swollen into a head. Green, red, and savoy are cultivar groups. Fermentation into sauerkraut is a Make step, not a different plant.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
A terminal bud swollen into a head. Green, red, and savoy are cultivar groups. Fermentation into sauerkraut is a Make step, not a different plant.
Edible portions
- heads
- outer leaves in cooking
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Cool-season
- Light. Full sun
- Soil. Rich, even moisture
- Planting. Transplants. Space for the head size you want.
- Harvest. Firm heads; split after rain on mature heads.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Slaw, braise, ferment
Nutrition and compounds
- Vitamins (qualitative, well-known associations). vitamin C, vitamin K — not milligram values.
- Plant compounds. glucosinolates. Presence is not a dose, a cure, or a reason to buy a capsule.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.