Herb. No. 195 · Brassicaceae
Italian selection of wild cabbage; a cool-season crop worldwide.
Native · Mediterranean
Native Also grownNow a garden plant worldwide
LegalGentleplant
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
Fruit & vegetableHarvestCompanions
An Italian selection of cabbage grown for its unopened flower — a green you eat before it becomes a yellow bouquet.
Broccoli is Brassica oleracea talked into a tight flower head. Traditional Italian kitchen. Culinary amounts, cooked until just tender, are the path. Let it bloom and you have a pretty, less tender plant. Side shoots after the main head are the second crop people forget to pick.
Flavor
Green, faintly cabbage, nutty when roasted. Overboiled is sulfur and surrender.
Parts used
Flower head · Stem · Young leaf
Helpful
- A second crop of side shoots
- Kids will eat it roasted
Cautions
- Heat makes it bolt to yellow flowers
- Cabbageworm
- Raw mountains are a fad