No.32: Cauliflower

Note: This week's Cauliflower has been requested
by Sam's Mistress

Sporting green leaves to shade itself from the sun gives
this yummy veg its original whitish shade!

1. Apart from the white variety of cauliflower, there are also green, purple and orange varieties! Orange cauliflower contains
25 times the level of Vitamin A of
white varieties.

2. While broccoli opens outward to sprout bunches of green florets, cauliflower forms a compact head of undeveloped white flower buds. The heavy green leaves that surround the head protect the flower buds from the sunlight, hence its white color.

3. To prevent moisture from developing in the floret clusters, store it with the stem
side down.

4. Cauliflower contains phytonutrients that release odorous sulfur compounds when heated. Some phytonutrients may react with iron in cookware and cause the cauliflower to take on a brownish hue. To prevent this, add a bit of lemon juice to the water in which you blanche the cauliflower.

5. Low carb dietiers can use cauliflower as a reasonable substitute for potatoes for while they can produce a similar texture, or mouth feel, they lack the starch of potatoes; cauliflower is used to produce a potato substitute known as fauxtato.

Reference: Wikipedia, World's Healthiest Food, Food Reference