Entry · Monday, August 17, 2026
Savoy Cabbage
/SAY-voy KAB-ij/ n.- 1. A cultivar of Brassica oleracea distinguished from its flat-leafed cousins by deeply crinkled, corrugated outer leaves that ruffle outward in dense, overlapping layers, producing a head of real circumference and an overall silhouette best described as full-seated.
- 2. colloq. Produce that arrived at the farmers' market having already decided how much shelf space it was getting. The leaves do not tuck in; they present.
"The Savoy cabbage Marguerite pulled from her CSA box was so thiccc it took up the entire cutting board and one corner of the counter. The crinkle on her was structural."
From Savoy, the Alpine region straddling modern France and Italy, whence this variety was historically associated; combined with Middle English caboche, from Old North French, meaning 'head.' The region gave it the name. The head gave it the reputation.
Filed by
The crinkle is structural and the silhouette is full-seated and I am not going to explain that further.
Ruling ADMITTED UNDER PROTEST
The corrugated outer leaves ruffle outward in dense overlapping layers and produce a head of documented circumference. The Alpine provenance is irrelevant. The shape is not.
In the margin
The fact that each individual crinkle is load-bearing and also part of a larger crinkle situation, which is itself load-bearing, is the most inspiring thing I have encountered this quarter.