Meet the Brassica Family

What’s in a name? 

Meet the Brassica-Saurus family

 

Savoy (aka Blistered) Cabbage: From Middle English Caboche meaning "head".

Arugala: Demonstrating a perfect Crucifer shaped Flower (also great on salads)

Radish: from the Latin for Root radix

 

The Brassicaceae family includes many popular vegetables (and some unpopular ones). From Broccoli to Cabbage, Arugala to Bok Choy. Roasted roots, steamed greens, fresh in salads, and frequently fermented, this family is perhaps one of the oldest and more adapted vegetables we consume.

These veggies have a variety of common names including Brassicas, Crucifers, and Cole Crops. Let’s break those names down. To start – Brassica is a relatively new term that was Latin-icized from the Celtic word for cabbage -  “bresic”.

Well then, who the heck is Cole? You may have noticed a trend Cole Slaw, Collards, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, and even Kale. These all share the same word root which is derived from the Latin word caulis meaning stem and was later used in German (Kohl). Cole Crops aren’t all Brassicas- only about a dozen of the more European ones are referred to as Cole crops (i.e not bok choy). Interestingly Bro means flower, which makes Broccoli and Cauliflower oddly similar. Cole Slaw may be the most unappetizing salad name out there. Slaw is a crudely anglicized interpretation of the Dutch word for salad. And the name for Cabbage itself is a bit of an outlier having been derived from the Middle English word for head - “caboche”.

The Brassica family gets it’s Crucifer name from the shape of its flower. Ever noticed that Broccoli flowers look a lot like Canola? Turns out Brassicas have a Crucifer (Cross) shaped flower (usually yellow or white).  You’ve probably seen some of these crops flower, such as Canola and Arugala but may not have witnessed Kale of Cabbage flowers. Some Brassicas, like many other vegetables, are Biennial. That means they produce flowers and seeds in their second year (similar to Carrots). Kale flowers are delicious if you can find them.

Speaking of Canola, that ubiquitous Prairie crop, is indeed a Brassica. The name CANOLA is actually a modern creation from CANada Oil Low Acid (or perhaps Ola meaning oil). It had the misfortune of being known as Rape Seed. Which isn’t as bad as it sounds since it was from the old Latin word for turnip - rapa. Just like Rappini.  

The Brassica family is huge, diverse, and quite incestuous – both in genetics and names. Their popularity among many cultures has lead to a slew of names which English has adopted haphazardly. Genetically there are three dominant Species in the family with a complicated history. Some were originally from Europe and others from East Asia and then people started playing with. Not even all the Cabbages are from the same Species (Napa versus Red Cabbage). 

One more thing. I have no idea what is going on with this family name in French. Someone please help me. What does "Chou" mean? Chou fleur, Chor frisee, Choux de Brusselles, Chou croute.

Finally here’s an incomplete list of Brassicas. Might not have realized you were eating brassicas for dinner! Which one is your favourite? 

In no particular order:

Broccoli, Rapini, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Savoy Cabbage, Napa Cabbage

Brussel Sprouts, Kale, Collards, Kohlrabi

Arugala, Watercress

Tatsoi, Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Bok Choy

Turnip, Rutabega, Radish

 Daikon, Horseradish, Wasabi, Mustard Seed, Canola

And more…

Brocoli: A Flowering Stalk.

Growing Kale at Bread and Butter Farm for Winter Harvest

The plant with many names: Black Kale, Lacinato, Tuscan Kale, Dinosaur Kale.

Captain Andrew Kale at Halloween

Alien shaped Kohlrabi (this one is purdy ugly).

Discussing Rutabegas at the FTP farm with Laura

"Oh boy, can't wait to get me some Brussel Sprouts."

Brussel Sprouts: They came from the Low Countries and we all love 'em!

How to Use "Labels" to create Topic Pages

Time to get nerdy about Blogs!

When I started this blog I wanted just one platform to write about my various interests - the outdoors, food, and bicycling. I didn't want to frig around with separate blogs for these topics. So I faced the dilemma of a non-specific blog - and the issue of various topics cluttering and hiding each other. For example if my Mom :) came to read my recipes I wanted her to be able to focus in on just those posts and not wade through photos from climbing and hiking.

Over the course of a year I fiddled around with blogger, wordpress, and tumblr to find a way that I could separate out my topics into different pages. At first I tried setting up actual "Pages" but I found these to be static. I wanted each topic page to be look and act like blog.

I figured it out first with Wordpress and then just recently with Blogger. I chose Blogger in the end because of how easy it was add photos through Picasa and online albums. Wordpress has a sleek look but it's painfully clunky in the photo department and has limited space. 

So here's a step by step way to get your Blog Topics to act like Pages:

** I added notes to the screenshots. You may need to open them to read more easily.

The "Labels" you select will show up like Pages below your header. Each will take the reader to a list of all posts fitting into that category.

When you write Posts give them Labels. You can create any label you'd like to fit your topic. Think of them as categories/topics/ or tags. The Labels that you create here will be available as links below your header (you choose which).

Go to your "Layout" page and add the "Labels" Widget. You can place it along the bottom, sidebar, or top. I prefer putting it at the top so that it mimics "Pages". 

In this dialog box you can select which Labels you want to appear. You may find it cleaner to select only a few primary Labels to display (so that it's not messy with 2 dozen different labels).  For instance I chose generic labels such as "Outdoors" and "Food" to display on my main page.

But you needn't be limited to just those principle labels on your posts. When I gave something the "Outdoors" label I also further identified it with "climbing", "rockies", "winter".

Happy blogging