Chinese cabbage, commonly referred to as Chinese cabbage, is a Brassica plant.
Chinese cabbage is a biennial herb with a height of 40 to 60 cm. The whole plant is slightly white and hairless, and sometimes there are several bristles on the lower midvein. Basal leaves are large, obovate-oblong to obovate, 30-60 cm long, blunt at the top, wrinkled and wavy at the edge, sometimes with inconspicuous teeth, and the midvein is white and wide; How thick the lateral veins are, the petiole is white, flat, 5 to 9 cm long and 2 to 8 cm wide, with wide and thin wings and notches at the edge; The leaves on the upper part of the stem are oblong-ovate, oblong-lanceolate to long-lanceolate, 2.5-7 cm long, the top of which is obtuse to short, whole or toothed, stalked or clasped, spicate and frosty.
The flowers are bright yellow with a diameter of1.2 ~1.5cm; Pedicel 4 to 6 mm long; Sepals oblong or ovate-lanceolate, 4 to 5 mm long, erect, light green to yellow; Petals obovate, 7-8 mm long, tapering into claws at the base. Silique is thick and short, with a length of 3-6 cm and a width of 3 mm, flat and upright on the side, with a beak length of 4- 10 mm, a width of 1 mm and a round top. Fruiting pedicels spreading or ascending, 2.5 to 3 cm long, thicker. The seeds are spherical, with a diameter of 1 ~ 1.5mm and brown. It blooms in May and bears fruit in June.
Chinese cabbage was originally distributed in northern China, and widely cultivated in various parts of China. Cabbage is hardy, likes cold climate and is suitable for growing in cold season. If cultivated in high temperature season, it is prone to pests and diseases, or the quality is poor and the yield is low, which is not suitable for summer cultivation. Its low temperature resistance is very strong. After the temperature reaches MINUS 3℃, if the temperature can be gradually increased, the growth can also be resumed; However, if the temperature reaches -8℃ and continues to drop to about-1 1℃, it will not be able to resume normal growth and suffer from freezing injury. Chinese cabbage is suitable for planting in loam, sandy loam and black loess with rich organic matter, but not in sandy soil which is easy to leak water and feces, and even less in clay with poor drainage.
Chinese cabbage is rich in vitamins, dietary fiber and antioxidants, which can promote intestinal peristalsis and help digestion. Moreover, the vitamin C content of Chinese cabbage is higher than that of apples and pears, at the same level as that of citrus, and the calories are much lower.
Cabbage is also a kind of weight-loss vegetable, because it contains few calories and will not cause heat storage. Cabbage also contains little sodium, which will not let the body store excess water and reduce the burden on the heart. Middle-aged and elderly people and obese people can eat more Chinese cabbage to lose weight.
When cooking, the correct way should be to wash it before cutting it. For leafy vegetables such as cabbage and cabbage, you can remove the outside leaves, soak the inside leaves in warm water, and then rinse them with running water one by one.
Cabbage is easy to preserve and affordable, and can be used with most dishes. It is a veritable "civilian dish" and "wild vegetable". Even if Chinese cabbage is as good as 1000, the content of chlorophyll and other nutrients is far lower than that of green leafy vegetables. Therefore, the statement that "all kinds of vegetables are unique to Chinese cabbage" is somewhat one-sided. Different vegetables have their own advantages, and eating together is more in line with the principle of balanced nutrition.