Everything you ever wanted to know about...cauliflower?
I was so taken with the looks of the cauliflower varieties at the Waverly farmers market this morning I had to Google them. What I learned is from various sites:
The peak cauliflower growing season is October through December. The names are great: Early Snowball and Super Snowball are the, duh, earliest, then Snowdrift and Danish Giant. (The Naming Guy must have been asleep when he came up with that last.) I'm not sure where White Sails falls in the season. ...
The reason cauliflower is more expensive than broccoli -- I love this -- is that the grower has to tie their leaves over the heads to protect them from the sun so they'll be white.
Who knew cauliflower could tan?
The yellowish green variety that has a lot of flavor is called Romanesco. Broccoflower is the greener one that is a, and I quote, "mutant strain." That does make it less appetizing, doesn't it?
And then there are Purple Cape and Orange Bouquet, but they never seem like real food to me. More like those carnations florists dye whatever color they happen to need.
Comments
I love that they have to tie the leaves around their heads! The purple cauliflower is just tooo strange!
Posted by: Pigtown | October 18, 2008 11:25 AM
Coincidentally, I noticed yellow and purple cauliflower for the first time at the Harbor East farmers market this morning.
I think someone recently was looking for Rome apples, but I forget what discussion it was in. There were plenty of Romes at Harbor East today.
Posted by: Hal Laurent, VoR | October 18, 2008 11:53 AM
Does any of it, you know, not taste like cauliflower?
I think the yellow-green and green varieties have more flavor, and I like white cauliflower. EL
Posted by: fizzy | October 18, 2008 12:49 PM
I made soup with purple cauliflower last week - I'd never seen it before and it was just so PURPLE. I had to take it home with me.
It tasted good...just like regular cauliflower soup. And it was the craziest, kind of pretty color.
Posted by: kitpollard | October 18, 2008 4:15 PM
The yellow has an almost sweet taste to me. The purple tastes pretty much the same as the white but a broccoli salad made with broccoli and various colored cauliflowers is really yummy and quite beautiful.
Posted by: Rosebud | October 18, 2008 5:09 PM
Sadly, cauliflower diversity has yet to come to Harford County's Bel Air Market. I guess that's why we're now back in the first congressional district. Gerrymandering and vegetables ... who knew??
Posted by: MD Canon | October 18, 2008 10:10 PM
Well, this explains why I am so repulsed by yellow cauliflower. Back in the day, when we (briefly) lived in Texas, I planted cauliflower for fall. The one I harvested on Thanksgiving morning, to take to the neighborhood Transplants dinner, was yellow-y. Tasted OK, but there was rowdy carrys-on about it being discolored. Tie its leaves over its face! Who knew?
Posted by: Eve | October 19, 2008 5:56 PM
Hal, I was looking for Romes, but I don't think I'm motivated enough to hit Harbor East for them ...
Posted by: Dahlink | October 20, 2008 5:42 PM
Hal, I was looking for Romes, but I don't think I'm motivated enough to hit Harbor East for them ...
That's interesting...for me Harbor East is way easier (but doesn't have nearly the selection) than the Sunday market. I park in front of Whole Foods, buy fifty cents worth of parking time, walk to the farmer's market, bring the goods back to the car, and then hit Whole Foods for other things.
I do live very close to there, though.
Posted by: Hal Laurent, VoR | October 20, 2008 7:09 PM