Cauliflower

Cauliflower is considered almost the best representative of the vegetable family, the fact is that this cabbage contains much more protein and vitamin C than the white cabbage familiar to all of us. In the process of processing, cauliflower retains much more nutrients than broccoli. Cauliflower dishes are an indispensable attribute of dietary and baby food.

Despite all this, cauliflower has not yet received such widespread distribution as the same white cabbage, and sometimes very little space is allocated to cauliflower gardens.

It is interesting that since the 18th century, when it first appeared in Russia, cauliflower, in essence, did not take up more space, and the attitude of people towards cauliflower as a curiosity has not yet changed.

Cultural history

Cauliflower is an annual that appeared in culture in the 11th century. For the first time, large areas occupied by cauliflower appeared in Arab countries and the second name of this cabbage is Arabian cabbage, or Syrian cabbage. The then cauliflower was very different from the present one, it formed small green-whitish heads with a rather bitter taste, however, the benefits of using this vegetable neutralized its not outstanding taste advantages.

In the XII century, culture appeared in Europe, but they realized its value and began to actively cultivate it as a vegetable crop, only in the 15th century, in this century the first cultivars created in Europe began to appear on sale.

As for Russia, in our country culture has been, is and, most likely, will be a delicacy and a wonder for a long time. In the old days, however, the outlandishness of cauliflower in Russia was explained very simply - the seeds cost crazy money, so only wealthy people could grow cabbage. In addition, cauliflower, or rather its varieties of that time, did not work well in the rather cold and capricious climate of Russia.

Only with the advent of domestic cultivars did the need to purchase expensive foreign seeds disappear, and there was an opportunity to cultivate cauliflower in our climate.

At the moment in Russia for every 100 sq. m of land is only 1 m, under cauliflower, in European countries - more than 10 m, that is, 10 times more.

Cultural biology

Cauliflower plants are characterized by a rather powerful tap-stem, reaching a length of 75 cm. Cauliflower leaves are located perpendicular to the stem or slightly oriented upward, depending on the variety. The shape of the leaves, painted in a bluish-greenish color, can be, depending on the cultivar, oval, feathery or lanceolate, and the size of the petioles can vary from 5 to 40 cm. it is these heads that go into food. The color of the head, depending on the cauliflower cultivar, can be snow-whitish, cream, yellow, greenish or beetroot-pinkish. If you do not harvest on time, that is, do not cut off the heads, then a flower panicle will form above them. The flowers are yellow in color and small in size after pollination will form leguminous fruits, which in shape and size are similar to those of white cabbage. Each such pod contains up to a dozen spherical seeds.

The root system of cauliflower is mostly superficial. Considering this, you need to be more careful when growing cabbage, give preference to nutritious soils and maintain optimal soil moisture, in this quality, cauliflower is somewhat inferior to white cabbage.

Useful properties of cauliflower

Cauliflower has rightfully earned a reputation as almost the most useful vegetable for the full existence of the human body.In terms of usefulness, cauliflower is often compared with the more familiar to all of us white cabbage. By most of the indicators reflecting its beneficial properties, cauliflower outperforms white cabbage. So, for example, in cauliflower there are twice as many protein compounds as in white cabbage, and vitamin C is three times more. In addition, this culture contains carotene, folic acid, thiamine, choline and B vitamins, including riboflavin and minerals. Of the minerals, most of all are potassium, zinc, manganese, and phosphorus.

In addition to its rich chemical composition, the culture also has a low calorie content. 100 grams of cauliflower contains only 30 calories. With this in mind, cauliflower can be considered, in fact, an ideal product for people on a diet and wanting to get rid of excess body weight or adhere to a healthy lifestyle.

Cauliflower, among other things, is an excellent supplier of plant fibers. We all know that there are many vegetable fibers in other types of cabbage, but there they are tougher, which cannot be said about cauliflower, which has delicate and easily digestible vegetable fibers. With this in mind, cauliflower is widely used for dietary and medicinal products.

Doctors recommend cauliflower to be eaten by people suffering from intestinal disorders, liver and biliary system diseases, disorders of the normal functioning of the heart, and simply to maintain immunity at the proper level. There is good evidence that eating cauliflower reduces the risk of malignant tumors and inhibits their development and growth.

There are, however, contraindications. So, given that cauliflower contains purine compounds, it is not advised to use it for people suffering from gout, it can reduce the positive effect of drugs.

Cauliflower recipes: