![]() Next came more crossing, seed-saving, and breeding to create the cauliflower we know today. The term broccoli came from the Italian word broccolo, which means “flowering crest of a cabbage”. The Etruscans (an ancient Italian civilization) were the horticultural geniuses that first began breeding wild cabbage varieties for denser floral heads. It was their cabbage predecessor that brought these ubiquitous veggies to life! Really, neither broccoli nor cauliflower came first. In spite of cauliflower’s royal treatment in 16th century Europe, Mark Twain’s contention that “a cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education” holds some truth. Technically, broccoli came before cauliflower, but they both have their roots in cabbage ancestry. What came first, broccoli or cauliflower? Wild cabbage brought both of these flowering vegetables to life. The term “cauliflower” is a derivative of the Italian caoli fiori, translated to “cabbage flower”, which is exactly what this vegetable is. They called it “sprout cauliflower” or “Italian asparagus” and served it in elegant royal dishes to King Louis XIV. The jury is still out as to which is correct, but we do know that the lordly white cauliflower as we know it today first arrived on English tables in the 1720s. Scientists have made several attempts to figure out where exactly cole crops originated and hold contrasting hypotheses about either a Mediterranean or North Atlantic origin. To this day, you can find the vibrant yellow flowers of wild Brassica oleracea blooming along the rocky coastlines and roadside ditches of Europe. At some point, a farmer or gardener gathered seeds from a wild Brassica plant (likely wild cabbage) and bred it over many generations to produce small heads. Where does cauliflower originate? It took many generations of breeding to serve up this delicious, creamy vegetable.Ĭauliflower has a blurred and uncertain origin. Without any other archeological proof, this mention serves as our first evidence of cauliflower in ancient Rome. Pliny was crazy about cauliflower, though he lamented the foul-smelling water that came from boiling it (which is easily solved with a colander and a nice rinse by the way). ![]() He wrote “of all the varieties of cabbage, the most pleasant-tasted in cyma”. At the time, cauliflower was called cyma and most often lumped into the same category of its cabbage relatives. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder is credited with the first official mention of cauliflower in his book Naturalis Historia. ![]() ![]() Most of us think of cauliflower as a vegetable but botanically speaking, it is an edible flower, perhaps the most famous of all time. History of Cauliflower The first official mention of this edible flower was by a Roman naturalist named Pliny the Elder. Still, others are bred for bulbous roots like kohlrabi, and then there are the modified flower cousins: broccoli and cauliflower. Some are bred for tasty large leaves like kale and collards, whereas others are bred for dense clusters of leaves (cauliflower and brussel sprouts). Its close cousins cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, collards, and kohlrabi are all variations of the same species, often collectively referred to as “cole crops” or “crucifers”. Whether the classic cream of cauliflower soup, grilled cauliflower, and cauliflower au gratin, or the modern cauliflower rice, pizza crusts, cauliflower “wings”, and gluten free cauli substitutes, there’s no denying that this vegetable has come a long way from its wild cabbage ancestors.Ĭauliflower is one of the hundreds of offshoots of the Brassica oleracea plant. History and Cultivation From classic to modern uses, this vegetable does not disappoint. Why not try your hand at growing it in the garden? With a few simple tips and tricks, your garden beds will be bursting with nutrient-dense cauliflower for a vast range of recipes and snacks. Plus, it is often difficult to find those specialty varieties of vibrant purple, orange, and green heads. The abundance of biomass is also the perfect addition to your compost pile.Ĭauliflower is notoriously expensive at farmer’s markets and grocery stores. While this cool-weather crop takes up a bit more space than roots or greens, the prolific plants can yield heads up to 1 or 2 pounds! Once harvested, many cauliflower varieties also give you plenty of delicious shoots called “sprouting cauliflower”: tasty florets atop tender, sweet stems. This brassica is grown for heads of tightly packed florets that can be enjoyed raw, roasted, fried, steamed, or even as a rice and grain alternative. Cauliflower is broccoli’s denser, creamier cousin with a reputation for being rather difficult to cultivate in the garden.
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