Brassica

Slightly bitter, grassy. Roasting brings out sweetness.

Broccoli

The flowering head of a cabbage relative. Bred by humans over centuries.

What's in it

  • · Fiber
  • · Vitamin C
  • · Vitamin K
  • · Sulforaphane precursors (from chewing/chopping)

How it's cooked

  • · Steamed
  • · Roasted
  • · Stir-fried
  • · Blanched and shocked
  • · Raw (florets in salad)

Around the world

Italian orecchiette with broccoli and anchovy. Chinese stir-fry with garlic. American roasting sheet-pan with olive oil and salt.

Commonly paired with

GarlicLemonOlive oilAnchovy or fish sauceChili flakesSesame

Texture

Crisp when raw, tender when steamed, caramelized and chewy when roasted.

Questions to investigate

  • · Steamed vs roasted — same broccoli, two different foods.
  • · Chop and let sit 5 minutes before cooking — traditionally believed to preserve more of the sulforaphane compounds.

Your meals with broccoli

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