However, despite their versatility, they have often been described as peasant fare, even though they were grown for gentler folk. The 16th-century, Italian-born Catherine de Medici is credited with introducing Savoy cabbages to the French court. And, 17th and 18th-century Scottish aristocracy spared space in their kitchen gardens for the lowly vegetable. In 1689, the Earl of Cassilis bought 1lb of rid [red] cabbage seed from seedsman Walter Christy, and, 50 years later, his son was given a much wider selection by his supplier, James McLellan: “2ou [oz] red Dutch Cabbage; 1ou Battersy Do; 2ou green Do; 2ou Dutch Savoy Do; and 1ou early May Cabbage.”
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Cabbage patch pointers
Cabbages are one of our most nutritious vegetables and there's a variety for all seasons.
