New Hybrid Ssamchu Cabbage

Ssamchu, a hybrid of Korean and plain cabbages, made its debut in Korea's department stores at the beginning of 2000.
Ssamchu cabbage combines the sweetness of a normal cabbage with the bitterness of Korean cabbage.
Hyundai Department Store averages monthly Ssamchu sales of $26,000. Ssamchu's price is 750 won (100g), more expensive than a Korean cabbage (390 won) or a normal cabbage (300 won).
Choi Bo-kyu, a section chief at Hyundai Department Store stated that, "Ssamchu is packed with vitamins A and C, sodium, iron, phosphor, and calcium, more so than in other common cabbages." Ssamchu also contains a retinol ingredient with an anti-aging effect.
A professor from a Korean agricultural school has been researching the new cabbage for almost thirteen years. He said that, "A Korean cabbage and other cabbage don't originally lend themelves to the hybridization process. So, I made use of an embryo-cultivation technique five days after the hybridization process begins."
"Ssamchu has 40 chromosomes, while a Korean cabbage has 20 and a common cabbage 18."

by Pyo jae-yong