Food Alphabet
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is an edible plant in the cruciferous family. In the wild, it is not found, so it is considered to be cultivated.
The birthplace of cauliflower is Syria. From Syria, cauliflower came to the island of Crete, and from there-in the form of seeds - to France, Holland and Italy, where it began to be actively grown in the 14th century. The English learned to cook and serve cauliflower in the 17th century: they boiled it in milk, and then served each inflorescence separately on a plate.
In Russia, cauliflower appeared under Catherine the Great. However, due to its high cost, only very rich people could afford it. Today, cauliflower is cultivated throughout Europe, South and North America, China and Japan. In terms of popularity among the types of cabbage, they take second place after white cabbage.
There are many varieties of cauliflower, among them there are also very interesting ones, with an exotic color and an unusual shape of inflorescences! For example, "cheddar" - cabbage with orange heads, containing a lot of beta-carotene. Or cabbage "purple ball", the pulp of which is enriched with a substance useful for blood vessels and eyes-anthocyanin. Or "amphora" (type "Romanesco"), which has pyramidal inflorescences of bright green color (contain a lot of chlorophyll).
In primitive forms of cauliflower, fleshy flower-bearing shoots are usually used for food, in others – the "head". At the same time, we almost never talk about cauliflower leaves, but in vain, because they also make delicious soups and side dishes.
In general, cauliflower can be eaten in any form-fresh, stewed, boiled, fried, pickled and sauerkraut. The main thing is not to expose it to too long heat treatment, because then it loses not only the taste, but most of the vitamins.
