Cauliflower Trivia | 30 facts about the vegetable

Cauliflowers is one of the most beneficial vegetables for our health, but not so many people love eating it.

Let’s find out more about the cauliflower!

1. Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea.
2. It belongs in the genus Brassica, which is in the Brassicaceae (or Mustard) family.
3. It is an annual plant.
4. It reproduces by seed.
5. Typically, only the head is eaten- the edible white flesh.
6. Its white fless is sometimes called “curd” (with a similar appearance to cheese curd).
7. The cauliflower head is composed of a white inflorescence meristem.
8. Cauliflower heads resemble those in broccoli, which differs in having flower buds as the edible portion.
9. Brassica oleracea also includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, and kale, collectively called “cole” crops, though they are of different cultivar groups.
10. In the 1st century AD, Pliny included what he called cyma among his descriptions of cultivated plants in Natural History.
11. Pliny’s descriptions likely refer to the flowering heads of an earlier cultivated variety of Brassica oleracea, but comes close to describing modern cauliflower.
12. In the Middle Ages early forms of cauliflower were associated with the island of Cyprus, with the 12th- and 13th-century Arab botanists Ibn al-‘Awwam and Ibn al-Baitar claiming its origin to be Cyprus.
13. This association continued into Western Europe, where cauliflowers were sometimes known as Cyprus colewort.
14. There was extensive trade in western Europe in cauliflower seeds from Cyprus, under the French Lusignan rulers of the island, until well into the 16th century.
15. François Pierre La Varenne employed chouxfleurs in Le cuisinier françois.
16. They were introduced to France from Genoa in the 16th century.
17. They are featured in Olivier de Serres’ Théâtre de l’agriculture (1600), as cauli-fiori “as the Italians call it, which are still rather rare in France. Also, they hold an honorable place in the garden because of their delicacy”,
18. They did not commonly appear on grand tables until the time of Louis XIV.
19. It was introduced to India in 1822 by the British.
20. The word “cauliflower” derives from the Italian cavolfiore, meaning “cabbage flower”.
21. The ultimate origin of the name is from the Latin words caulis (cabbage) and flōs (flower).
22. Cauliflower is very low in calories yet high in vitamins. In fact, cauliflower contains some of almost every vitamin and mineral that you need.
23. There are 3 grams of fiber in one cup of cauliflower, which is 10% of your daily needs.
24. Cauliflower is a great source of antioxidants, which protect your cells from harmful free radicals and inflammation.
25. Cauliflower has several properties that may help with weight loss.
26. The cauliflower has only 25 calories per cup, so you can eat a lot of it without gaining weight.
27. It can also serve as a low-calorie substitute for high-calorie foods, such as rice and flour.
28. There is such thing as cauliflower rice.
29. The orange and purple cauliflower are higher in antioxidants than regular white cauliflower.
30. Purple cauliflower’s true origin is not known, but the purple color is natural. It is the antioxidant anthocyanin that gives it the purple pigment.