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Cauliflower
Choux Fleur
Appears in
Published 2010
Species name: Brassica oleracea
Unlike other members of the Brassicaceae family, which produce leafy greens, cauliflower possesses a white flowered head with surrounding leaves and a large stalk. In French, chouxfieur literally translates as “cabbage flower” and the origin of the name is attributed to 13th-century monks in southern France. In English, “cauli” is taken from cole plus “flower” due to the appearance of its head.
The head of the cauliflower is eaten and the leaves and stalk are discarded. This vegetable is crunchy, possesses a nutty flavor, and can be consumed both raw and cooked. In the late 1980s, the first purple cauliflower was grown from a mutated plant in a cauliflower field in Denmark. After its first spontaneous growth, the plant was perfected, tested, and proven to be adaptable and productive in many temperate and subtropical areas. Purple cauliflower is produced mainly in southern Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.