Of Cabbages and Kings

Oars dip into the waters of a fog-bound strait, as an invasion fleet paddles nigh silent in the still of the night. In the distance loom chalky cliffs of white, the black streaks cutting 'cross its face seeming to guide the ships to harbor in what is now the town of Dover. Caesar's legion disembarks, marches miles across the countryside, conquering and pillaging, laying waste to its adversaries. At journey's end, they sail back to terra firma, the solid ground of Empire, where all roads lead to roam, carrying with them the progenitor for the greatest treasure man has ever known: broccoli.

Not gold, nay, not silver, or precious jewels, such as future armadas would bring back from the new world. Not fossil bones or ostriches, or many-splendored robes, but a simple garden vegetable that has saved more lives than one might ever know. From humble beginnings as a near weed thousands of years ago, it has become a staple of diets ranging from East Asian to Mediterranean to American South, from a pestilence seeking refuge on limestone sea cliffs to kale and collard greens, Chinese broccoli and cauliflower, cabbages and Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and broccoli, all those green vegetables kids just love to hate. And not just kids either, since two presidents -- the Bushes -- have expressed a measure of disdain for it. Then again, perhaps they, named after plants, do not enjoy greens due to the implied cannibalism in such tastes, preferring instead a cut of filet mignon from the Texas pronghorn cattle their ancestors smuggled across the border from Mexico.

Mind you, that attitude would not have survived long in the years after the fall of the Roman Empire, where in those Dark Ages, peasants from Ireland to Russia lived off of cabbage soup leavened with carrots, and very occasionally, chicken as a delicacy. The same basic ingredients have sustained many a family through hard times, whether the fall of a nation, the Great Depression, or in soup kitchens to feed to homeless, though understandably, the innovation of canned and instant soups have introduced celery and rice as commonplace.

As cabbage has helped many to get through hard times, it is a slight irony that in England, the term "cabbage" is a slang synonym for money. And more than that, the same term can be used as an endearment from a man to a woman in Europe's most romantic language, with the phrase "ma petite chou" meaning literally "my little cabbage." Be warned, don't try this in the United States or in Germany, or you may encounter less than optimal results, as during World War II, "kraut" (cabbage) was a racial slur for Germans, and in Hebrew, the term "rosh kruv" (cabbage head) implies stupidity.

In Germany, instead, the vegetable of choice is the "kale", which is more closely related to the wild-type of cabbage than that eaten elsewhere, and indeed, an entire culture has risen up around it. Central European social clubs tend to have a "Grünkohlfahrt" ("kale tour") sometime in January, visiting a country inn to consume large quantities of kale, sausage and schnapps, or even a yearly kale festival which includes naming a "kale king" (this is equivalent to the king of the harvest!). To the north, it is part of an obligatory holiday dish that accompanies (and usually supersedes the importance of) the Christmas ham, and in some places, it was so important as the base for a traditional diet that the word for kale is synonymous with food.

But enough with talk of cabbages (curly or not) and kings, as we move on to the more noble branches of the wild mustard family: the aforementioned broccoli and cauliflower, which are both 'superfoods' helping people live longer and better enjoy their lives.

The name broccoli, of course, comes from the Italian broccolo, meaning stalk (the part of the vegetable that both Bushes most vehemently dislike), though the origin of this particular cultivar is less than perfectly clear. While the Roman natural history writer, Pliny the Elder, wrote about a vegetable that fit the description of broccoli, implying that the Romans grew their own during the 1st century, some trace it back to the ancient Greeks and beyond. Yet, despite being an important part of the Imperial diet, it was relatively unknown until much at least 1560, when the first mention of it pops up in France, before shuffling back to its origins in Britain in 1724. There it was called the italian asparagus (oddly enough, the same vegetable that can grow unaided in the soils of Mars--perhaps the Martian staple will be asparagus), at least until Thomas Jefferson received some seeds to cultivate in the soils of America.

But like the soybean, broccoli did not become popular until well into the 20th century, when in 1922, the D'Arrigo brothers, Italian immigrants from Messina, made some tentative plantings in San Jose, California. A few crates were shipped to Boston, and business boomed, against the protestations of disillusioned teenagers and little children picking at their greens. This resistance found a niche in pop culture, with the first reference to it appearing in "The New Yorker" in 1928. There, a mother and child are seated at the table, and the mother says, "It's broccoli, dear," pointing to the inoffensive plant matter. The child replies, "I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it!"

More recently, the English band Coil released a track called 'Broccoli' on their 1999 album "Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1", praising the health benefits of the vegetable. But is it only the British who benefit from broccoli and these other relatives of the wild cabbage first looted from Britannic shores? Or are they simply most acutely aware of how much better our lives would be if we ate the 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day recommended by most nutritionists?

The latter is more likely, as researcher have discovered that broccoli really is good for you. In addition to having a large assortment of vitamins (A, B, C) and minerals (iron, zinc, potassium, etc), it also boasts compounds such as 3,3'-Diindolylmethane and sulforaphane, potent modulators of the innate immune response system with anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties. In addition, other compounds within it increase liver function (so if one is inclined to party, eating broccoli helps you last longer), prevents heart disease and stroke, and even stops certain forms of cancer (breast, prostate, GI tract) in its tracks. Guess those Romans got something much more valuable than even they realized, when they invaded the British Isles.

Just don't overcook it, or the resulting mush, besides being unappetizing, will not be very nutritional either. Rather like how homework, when turned into dull rote memorization and busywork to clutter up one's time, is not terribly conducive to learning.

This has been another edition of the Eclectic Hodgepodge. Please comment with any questions, comments, or suggestions (particularly for the next topic, I'd love to accommodate your requests). Until next time, this is the bumbling Strawberry, over and out.

The World's Most Common Psychoactive Drug

It is perhaps the most insidious and pervasive of all psychoactive substances in the world, with at least 90% of Americans consuming it on a daily basis. And in its natural form, its a pesticide, much like other substances that we twist to suit our needs...however unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions, even if it does have its own "-ism" from substance abuse (fairly common in college students, I'd imagine, from all that we indulge in it).

Aye, as you might have guessed, the friendly culprit is caffeine, friend to the college student, the working class, coffeeholics everywhere, and thinkgeek.com (the latter of which actually sells a product called Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap, with about 200 milligrams of caffeine per 5-10 minute shower!!...and Spazzstick Caffeinated Lip Balm as well [now with SPF 15 protection])

But caffeine has quite the long history as well, as it has been used since prehistoric times. Tea though, is more recent, invented around 3,000 BC by Emperor Shennong of China (who is also credited with identifying hundreds of medical (and poisonous) herbs by personally testing their properties...just a tad risky). Like so many other things, this too was an accident, caused when a leaf happened to be wafted by the wind to land in a cauldron of boiling water. Sharing the adventurous spirit of today's young and foolhardy (sometimes drunk) college students, he indulged himself in a drink, and opened the world to the wonder of Tea!

Coffee is a few thousand years younger, first widely adopted in the 15th Century by the Yemeni to stay awake during prayers. However, from there it quickly spread to Europe and the Near East, first being known as "Arabian wine" (perhaps taken as part of a hangover cure after a bacchanalia rite?) at "coffee houses" in Constantinople and Venice. It was also apparently quite useful in alchemy as well, where its properties of rejeuvenation led some to believe that it had a connection with life itself.

Caffeinated products have been used as currency, causes for revolution, trade goods...etc. But not everything about it is serious...caffeine been thought of as too much of the life of the party as well. In a rather amusing example, in 1911, the government initiated the case "United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola", claiming that the excessive use of Coca-Cola at one girls' school led to "wild nocturnal freaks, violations of college rules and female proprieties, and even immoralities." (One would think they were referring to alcohol use on Frat Row or some such!)

And while the court did rule in favor of Coca-Cola on that case, a bill was passed adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label. As for why, well...an overdose of caffeine (more than 3–4 cups of coffee) can lead to a person basically getting high off of it (very much like cocaine, actually, the other major psychoactive substance in early Coca-Cola...and which is still in the present drink in trace amounts in order to keep the name).

Just as an aside, due to a lawsuit about their name, after 1904, Coca-Cola couldn't get rid of cocaine entirely, so they started using "spent" coca leaves with molecular traces of the compound, with the Stepan Company's facility (in Maywood New Jersey) being the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant.

Getting back to the hodgepodge, some people have even been known to snort caffeine powder (an unsurprising white in color) for a faster and more intense reaction, with symptoms of restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.

At the very least though, it does give energy and reduce one's risk of Parkinson's disease, which is a good thing, considering how much of it the world consumes a year. At 120,000 tons per annum, that's enough to make it hands down the world's most popular psychoactive substance, equating to one serving of a caffeine beverage for every person, per day.

Its kind of funny that something that is toxic to most other living things on the earth is so beneficial to humans, and should use it, eh? But then, maybe that's part of the reason for humanity and its excesses...after all, we are what we eat (and drink), ne?

This has been another edition of the Eclectic Hodgepodge. Please comment with any questions, comments, or suggestions (particularly for the next topic, I'd love to accomodate your requests), and please...have a good day. =)

Introductions and Ramen

The Eclectic Hodgepodge is just a little something I throw together every once in a while, giving me an excuse to go off on a topic or two. This week (or time), the topic is Instant Ramen, the staple food of the typical college student. (Dorm residents at Virginia Tech invented the “Great Ramen Challenge”, in which they try to get their fellow students to eat 12 packages of ramen in two hours).

Instant Noodles. Not only popular with college students, they're an economic indicator as well. Higher volumes of purchases tend to mean recessions, whereas lower tends to be better. Apparently, its due to people not being able to afford more expensive foods, hence the increase in the purchase of ramen, as ramen is seen as an inferior good. Hopefully you don't have too many college students confounding that, eh?

Isn't true in North Korea though, where ramen (yes, the instant stuff) is considered quite the valuable commodity. Ever since introduction in the 1990s and indigenous production in early 2000, instant ramen has not only highly sought after by the elites, but has been finding its way onto the black market as well (with over 600,000 boxes of product...misdirected in 2004 alone).

From my brief digression into the socioeconomic ramifications of ramen, we move to an amusing little webcomic I ran across, called "Piled Higher and Deeper" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piled_higher_and_deeper) which follows the lives of several grad students in engineering. You should look into it, you might enjoy it.

Speaking of amusing sites, there's apparently a ramen blog (unless my perception of this blog has changed the nature of its existence, as it is wont to do under the tenets of observer effect due to quantum waveform collapse by consciousness...e.g. If a tree falls in a forest, etc). http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/ for more information, including recipes ranging from the traditional with meat and vegetables to ramen with chili, breakfasts with eggs and ramen and sugary desserts.

Who could have guessed that when instant noodles were invented back during China's Qing Dynasty, that they'd eventually become such a hit? (Or that ramen would become known as a quintissentially Japanese dish...well, outside of Japan?)

Indeed, in the manga Naruto, the title character's favorite food is ramen; early on, he claims that his favorite thing in the world is "cup ramen" while his least favorite is "having to wait the three minutes for it". Talk about obsession...

And finally, one last bit of humor, the flying spaghetti monster(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster), part of an interesting parody religion called "Pasta"farianism.

That about wraps it up for this edition of the Eclectic Hodgepodge. I hope that you found a measure of amusement from this little digression from the doldrums of routine. Thank you for taking the time to read through my rambling, and 'till next time, take care, sleep well, and have a good day!

And in the name of the great Flying Spaghetti Monster...RAmen.