Fragment Friday - The Vegetable Edition

Garden with bonus Bruno and fence patrolling Corgis.

Cabbage
Cabbage is related to broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, it descends from a wild field cabbage. It was likely domesticated somewhere in Europe before 1000 BC, although savoys were not developed until the 16th century. Ancient Greeks and Romans ate cabbage. Sauerkraut was used by Northern European sailors to prevent scurvy during long ship voyages.

Tomatoes
The tomato is botanically a berry fruit although it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes.
Tomatoes originated in the South American Andes and its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to 31 October 1548. The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in North America is from 1710.

Carrots
Carrots are root vegetables, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist.The most commonly eaten part of a carrot is a taproot, although the greens are sometimes eaten as well. The word carrot was first recorded in English around 1530. Carrot seeds have been found in Switzerland and Southern Germany dating to 2000–3000 BC.
Carrots are 88% water, 4.7% sugar, 2.6% protein, 1% ash, and 0.2% fat.

Cucumbers
Cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family, and originated in India but now grows on most continents  The cucumber is listed among the foods of ancient Ur, and the legend of Gilgamesh describes people eating cucumbers. Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers. They are mainly eaten in the unripe green form, since the ripe yellow form normally becomes bitter and sour. Cucumbers can be pickled for flavor and longer shelf-life.

Lettuce
Lettuce is an annual plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. Lettuce was first cultivated by the ancient Egyptians who turned it from a weed, whose seeds were used to produce oil, into a food plant grown for its succulent leaves. Lettuce flowers more quickly in hot temperatures. The domestication of lettuce over the centuries has resulted in several changes through selective breeding.
Types of lettuce - Leaf, Romaine/Cos, Iceberg/Crisphead, Butterhead – Also known as Boston or Bibb lettuce, Summercrisp, Stem, Oilseed.

Now, go make yourself a salad!


*All information gleaned from Wikipedia.