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Affinity (Cabbages and Roses)
‘Rickety Kate’ (Minnie Filson) 1937
I wonder if the cabbage knows
He is less lovely than the Rose;
Or does he squat in smug content,
A source of noble nourishment;
Or if he pities for her sins
The Rose who has no vitamins;
Or if the one thing his green heart knows —
That self-same fire that warms the Rose?
Captain Cook’s Sauerkraut
Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy was a renown seamen and explorer. The innovation of providing sailors with fresh fruit and vegetables when possible and sauerkraut kept the scourge of scurvy at bay.
As described in “Untold Lives‘: “Lack of vitamin C in the diet of sailors on long voyages resulted in the disease scurvy which could prove fatal. The symptoms of scurvy are swollen gums that are prone to bleeding, loose teeth, bulging eyes, easy bruising, scaly skin, and very dry hair. To counter this, James Cook replenished supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables for his crew whenever the ship made a land call. He also took with him ‘Sour Krout’, that is sauerkraut, cabbage fermented with lactic acid bacteria. On Cook’s first Pacific voyage in 1768, the Navy wanted to trial the efficacy of sauerkraut in combating scurvy. The Endeavour was provided with 7,860 pounds of sauerkraut, a ration of 2 pounds per man per week. Cook reported back to the Victualling Board in July 1771 that no ‘dangerous’ cases of scurvy had occurred and that he, the surgeons and the officers believed that the sauerkraut had played a large part in achieving this.”
