EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Every year my good friend Mack puts on a big get together at his place in Seville, FL.  And every year we go out the day before and collect palm hearts to make, what the crackers refer to as "swamp cabbage".   In most low areas in Florida, cabbage palms grow like weeds.  Basically, you just top the palm, peel the boots off, until you get down to the soft heart, which has the taste/texture of raw cabbage.  Once cleaned and chipped up, it's cooked with some fat back and served hot.  In the old days, swamp cabbage was often the only vegetable available.  Before chainsaws, a felling ax was used... in an experienced man's hand, it was said a palm could be topped in three to four strokes... Although very labor intensive, it is quite palatable.  This year, it took around 60 palms to feed 250 people... and we still ran out ;D

Cooter topping a palm
(http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4461/70373079.jpg) (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=70373079.jpg)

I knew I brought Lee for something ;D  Carrying rough tops to the truck
(http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/1099/68955482.jpg) (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=68955482.jpg)

Florida chainsaw massacre of the palms ;D  Lee and Blake
(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/831/54593815.jpg) (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=54593815.jpg)

Ellie taking a break from hunting(caught a 100#boar earlier that morning, no pics :P )
(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/8066/79207743.jpg) (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=79207743.jpg)

Trimming hearts down
(http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/3059/92267050.jpg) (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=92267050.jpg)

Chipping the hearts down back at the farm
(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7320/47148986.jpg) (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=47148986.jpg)

Always some good stories told by the time the cooler's full ;)
(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1193/34144704.jpg) (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=34144704.jpg)

Hmmmm....interesting. I'd have to try it at least once, sounds pretty durn good.

i remember my granddad talking about that when i was a kid , i had no idea what he was talking about , now i do thanks . he also said him mom made jelly out of prickly pear apples .

Cool pictures.

 thanks for posting

hey noah, you sure that was ellie and not a coyote hangin around?  :P

nice pictures, cool story too, i never heard of swamp cabbage.

Thanks,yep prickly pears makes real good jelly.  We used to fight over 'em as kids, just peel the skin/hairs off and suck on 'em.  They'll stain the hell out of your hands though... tastes like cranberry kinda

Dang thats cool. It seem like it would be more tough than cabbage. is it not? Is that one of your german sheppard crosses?

If someone handed you a piece with your eyes closed, you'd never know the difference.  Just imagine a more "meaty" cabbage... like I said though.... it's something to use in hard times.... heck of a lot easier to just use a dern cabbage ;D

And yes, that's my German shepherd cross(most of my friends refer to her as the coyote ;) )  Long as a hound.... fast as a cur.

Ha She does kinda have the yote look! i like her tho. She looks like a 'cur' dog my grandpa used to have that we picked up at the Kirbyville Auction Barn. He was a pretty good dog too. Yeah that swamp cabbage looks a lil' too ''labor intesive'' for me.  :D Awesome though!