Cauliflower and Romanesco

After years in the culinary doldrums, condemned by sulphurous memories of school dinners, cauliflower is back; and quite rightly so. Treated kindly, this sturdy brassica is fit for a feast and is much prized in Italy, Asia and Africa – in fact most places apart from where it grows best: in the UK.

Cauliflowers love our damp, mild maritime climate, particularly in the mild West, and it is consequently pretty cheap for most of the year. It’s possible to harvest cauliflower 11 months out of 12 in frost-free coastal areas. Riverford is not quite on the coast of Devon but some of our co-op growers are. Although easiest to grow in the late summer and autumn, this is when we have an abundance of other veg; our boxes need them most in the winter and early spring so this is when we concentrate our cropping plans.