CAULIFLOWER

'Cauliflower' is a variety (Botrytis Group) of ''Brassica oleracea'' in the family Brassicaceae (the same species as broccoli, which it strongly resembles). It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head (the ''white curd'') is eaten while the stalk and surrounding thick, green leaves are discarded. Cauliflower is extremely nutritious, and may be eaten cooked, raw or pickled.
Its name is a variation of cole flower or kale flower (cole and kale being variations of the same word), an acknowledgement of its unusual place among a family of food plants which normally produces only leafy greens for eating. It is of the very same species as cabbage, mustard greens, and brussels sprouts, for example.

Contents

Horticultural techniques

Cultivation

Commercial production

Botanical varieties

Colors

Nutrition

Cooking

References

External links

Horticultural techniques

Cultivation

The preferred garden soil for cauliflower is well drained, is moist, and has significant organic matter with a pH of 6 to 7. Cauliflower is typically started indoors six to eight weeks prior to setting out in the garden and is typically ready for harvest two months after transplanting. As with all brassicas, seeds germinate best with a soil temperature of 25±1 °C (77±2 °F). The vegetable requires a cool, moist climate - if temperatures go too high, the plants will not produce flower heads, if too low a temperature is reached, the plants might button, creating small heads. It is cold tolerant, but will not survive hard frosts. Of all the brassicas, cauliflowers have the largest number of growth requirements, and the ability to successfully grow cauliflower in a home garden is often thought to be the hallmark of well-managed soil and a good gardener.
The most common insect pests of cauliflower are cabbage worms. Aphids and flea beetles will also attack cauliflower. Control of pests can be achieved by using biological controls such as using geraniums and borage as companion plants to repel pests, the ''Bacillus thurengensis'' bacterium, predatory insects or chemical pesticides. Diseases of cauliflower include black rot, club root and viral yellows. Crop rotation helps to prevent fungal and bacterial diseases. The viral diseases are primarily spread by insects.

FAO reports that in 2005, China and India were the top producers of cauliflower and broccoli.

Commercial production

Most of the vegetables produced in the United States come from the state of California. The seasonal average f.o.b. shipping-point price for cauliflower in 2004 was $33.00 per 100 pounds ($0.73/kg) according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Botanical varieties

Traditional varieties include 'Snowball', 'Hybrid White', 'Super Snowball', 'Snow Crown', 'Mayflower', Candid Charm', 'Mormon', 'Agrahani', 'poushi', 'maghi', 'Snow White', 'Snow Grace'. Self-blanching varieties are 'Self Blanche', 'Early Tuscan', 'Late Tuscan' and heirloom varieties include 'All the Year Round', 'Early Pearl', 'Early Snowball', 'Igloo', 'Violetta Italia' and 'Walcheren Winter'.
Cauliflower and broccoli are the same species and have very similar structures, though cauliflower replaces the green flower buds with densely packed white flower buds.

Colors

★ Orange cauliflower (''B. oleracea'' L. var. ''botrytis'') called "Orange Bouquet" is available in North America, sporting 25 times the level of Vitamin A of white varieties. This trait came from a natural mutant found in a cauliflower field in Canada.^[1] Another orange cultivar goes by the name "Cheddar".

★ Green cauliflower/broccoli of the ''B. oleracea'' Botrytis group, is sometimes called broccoflower. It is available both with the normal curd shape and a variant spiky curd called "Romanesco broccoli" Both types have been commercially available in the US and Europe since the early 1990s. Romanesco's head is an example of a fractal image in nature, repeating itself in self-similarity at varying scales.^[2]


★ Purple cauliflower also exists. The purple color is caused by the presence of the antioxidant group anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine.^[3] In Great Britain and southern Italy, a broccoli-cauliflower intermediate is sold as a vegetable under the name "purple cauliflower." It is not the same as standard cauliflower with a purple curd.

★ A yellow cultivar of cauliflower is also known and produced commercially.

Nutrition

Cauliflower is low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate, water and vitamin C, possessing a very high nutritional density. As a member of the brassica family, cauliflower shares with broccoli and cabbage several phytochemicals which are beneficial to human health, including sulforaphane, an anti-cancer compound released when cauliflower is chopped or chewed. In addition, the compound indole-3-carbinol, which appears to work as an anti-estrogen, appears to slow or prevent the growth of tumors of the breast and prostate.^[4] Cauliflower also contains other glucosinolates besides sulfurophane, substances which may improve the liver's ability to detoxify carcinogenic substances.^[5] A high intake of cauliflower has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.^[6]
Cauliflower also contain compounds which can be harmful to certain individuals, including goitrogens which suppress the functioning of the thyroid gland, and purine which is broken down into uric acid and can cause or aggravate gout or kidney stones.

Cooking

Cauliflower can be boiled, fried, steamed or eaten raw. When cooking, the outer leaves and thick stalks are removed, leaving only the florets. The leaves are also edible, but are most often discarded.^[7] These should be broken into similar-sized pieces so the florets are cooked evenly. After eight minutes of steaming, or five minutes of boiling, the florets should be soft, but not mushy (depending on size). Stirring while cooking can break the florets into smaller, uneven pieces. Cauliflower is often served with a cheese sauce, as in the dish cauliflower cheese, or with a meat gravy.
Low carb dieters can use cauliflower as a reasonable substitute for potatoes because while they can produce a similar texture, or mouth feel they lack the starch of potatoes; cauliflower is actually used to produce a potato substitute known as fauxtato.

References

1. Orange-curd high carotene cauliflower inbreds, NY 156, NY 163, and NY 165, Dickson, M.H., Lee C.Y., Blamble A.E., , , HortScience,
2. Fractal Food: Self-Similarity on the Supermarket Shelf John Walker
3. Anthocyanin in Cauliflower
4. Nutritional benefits of Cauliflower. Retrieved December 14, 2006
5. World's Healthiest Foods article on Cauliflower. Retrieved December 14, 2006
6. Prospective study of fruit and vegetable intake and risk of prostate cancer, , VA, Kirsh, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2007
7. Stephens, M. J., ‘’ Secondary Edible Parts of Vegetables’’, Vegetarian, vol 5, 1998, retrieved November 6, 2006.

External links

★ PROTAbase on ''Brassica oleracea (cauliflower and broccoli)''

★ Fractal dimensions of a green broccoli and a white cauliflower (Kim) (PDF)