Swamp Cabbage

Yes it’s local

Swamp cabbage? What on earth is that? Read on and you will see.

Local foods give us a glimpse into the history and people of a place. Florida has a long history of Native American inhabitants and European explorers. We can thank Ponce de Leon for discovering us in 1521, and then further explorers from Spain who brought livestock, mostly cattle.

In 1763, after Spain traded the territory to Great Britain, the Spanish abandoned their efforts at colonization, leaving the cattle behind. A new set of cattlemen, mostly of Celtic and British descent, arrived in what is now Florida. They moved the cattle to grasslands for grazing and eventually sent them to market. They used the sound of whips cracking on the ranchland to move the cattle and eventually became called crackers for the sound of their whips.

About 1750 the Seminole Indians became prominent cattle ranchers around Lake Okeechobee. They started the use of cattle dogs, known as Florida cracker curs. Today the Seminole Tribe is one of Florida’s leading beef producers.

As you can imagine if you look at our undeveloped land, most of what grows in the scrublands is much the same as what those ranchers found. The ranchers moved the cattle frequently to better water sources and grass. One of a few things growing wild everywhere was the sabal palm, Florida’s official state tree (also known as the palmetto). These trees can grow to up to 40 feet tall and can live about 300 years.

Swamp cabbage is the heart of the sabal palm. Harvesting it is quite a project and results in the end of the tree’s life. The tree is cut down, then the section of trunk containing the heart is cut from the rest of the tree. The soft core is peeled and divided into rings that slightly resemble cabbage, hence the name swamp cabbage. It is most often braised in liquid with a ham hock or pieces of smoked meat, making a stew. Some recipes use the uncooked pieces for salads and pickles.

One raw shoot of swamp cabbage has .34 grams of protein as well as 40.56 grams of potassium, and trace amounts of many other vitamins and minerals. It is commercially grown and sold under the presumably classier name hearts of palm.

Swamp cabbage is still available at a handful of restaurants in Florida that serve old-time Cracker Cuisine. One of these is Marsh Landing in Feldsmere. Susan Adams and her mother, Fran, established the restaurant in 2002. They strive to take you back in time to simpler days when folks lived off the land. Their food is lovingly made from scratch. They serve frog legs, corn fritters, fried green tomatoes, gator tail, and daily specials that on occasion include a swamp cabbage stew. After a few visits to the restaurant, I was lucky enough to have a taste of the real deal!

The State of Florida prohibits the harvesting of the sabal palm on public land, but it grows wild everywhere, and if you have them growing on your land you can harvest freely. In this case, Susan located a farmer with lots of palms that he was happy to have removed. She had a request for an event and was able to come through with a supply for the restaurant too. It is a delicious taste of Florida history.

There is a Swamp Cabbage Festival in LaBelle every spring, though they do not offer a lot of swamp cabbage dishes. The Florida State Fair has an extensive hands-on exhibit called Cracker Country. It is there that cracker chef Buddy Mills serves it to the public.

I know you are thinking, “What does it taste like?” It is kind of a nutty, earthy version of cabbage, without a strong taste. I liken the taste of the stew to crunchy collard greens. Much of this may be due to the tradition of adding smoked meat.

The heart of a palm tree is a special treat. If you cannot locate swamp cabbage, you can use fresh or canned hearts of palm.