The Naming of Broccoli
It's not uncommon for horticulturists to bestow names upon newly developed fruits or vegetables that describe their appearance or their attributes. Broccoli has many strong branches or arms that grow from the main stem, each one sprouting a sturdy budding cluster surrounded by leaves. It was only fitting that the name broccoli came from the Latin bracchium, which means strong arm or branch.
Roman farmers called broccoli "the five green fingers of Jupiter."
In late 16th century England our familiar head of cabbage was called " cabbage," while the entire plant was called cabbage-cole, cole or colewort. To confuse matters further, broccoli and cauliflower were also called colewort.
Throughout its travels during 17th century Europe, broccoli was often confused with cauliflower as well as cabbage, the names often used interchangeably. It was even called broccoli cabbage or Calabrian cabbage.
Growing
Broccoli is in the Brassicaceae family and is classified as Brassica oleracea italica belonging to a family whose other members include cauliflower, kale, cabbage, collards, turnips, rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, and Chinese cabbage.
The Brassica vegetables all share a common feature. Their four-petaled flowers bear the resemblance to a Greek cross, which explains why they are frequently referred to as crucifers or cruciferous.
Though the public can easily distinguish broccoli from cauliflower, botanists have difficulty with classification. Both broccoli and cauliflower are akin to the cabbage family. These members develop flower buds that remain in the bud form and do not open. The buds of the cauliflower grow in a tightly clustered manner, while broccoli buds are more definitive and separate from each other.
There are three main types of broccoli, sprouting, calabrese, and romanesco. Calabrese is most familiar because of its large heading portion and thick stalks. Calabrese is what most farmers grow and bring to market. This variety was developed in Calabria, a province in Italy, and is planted in the spring for harvesting in summer.
The sprouting broccoli has smaller flowering heads and many thinner stalks. This type is planted in April and May for harvesting the following winter and spring. Some may be harvested in December.
The romanesco reaches maturity in the fall and is distinguished by its yellowish-green multiple heads.
Though most commercial markets sell only green broccoli, there are cultivars that produce purple and white broccoli. These are more common in Italy and so closely resemble cauliflower in appearance they are easily confused.
With selective cultivation over the centuries, farmers were able to develop broccoli varieties with larger and larger budding heads. In this way they were able to create cultivars that were lighter and lighter in color, until eventually the result was cauliflower.
In recent years, horticulturists have developed the broccoflower, a hybrid combination of broccoli and cauliflower that looks more like cauliflower with a yellow-green color and a flavor that resembles both its parents.
When broccoli is left on the plant too long, its sugars develop into a type of fiber called lignin, creating stems that will be tough no matter how long the cooking process.
Broccoli rabe is native to the Mediterranean region. It is also called Italian broccoli, di rape, rapini, broccoli raab, Chinese broccoli, and Gai Lon. Another member of the cruciferous family, this variety of broccoli is recognized by its thin stems, tiny budding heads, and abundant leaves with jagged edges. Though it's equally as nutritious as our familiar broccoli, its flavor is more pungent and slightly bitter.
Once a wild herb, broccoli rabe is now cultivated in the Italian provinces of Campania and Puglia as well as in the United States.
Ninety percent of the broccoli grown in the US comes from California's Salinas Valley in North and Santa Maria in the Central region of the state. Other states that grow broccoli include Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, Maine, and both North and South Carolina.
Broccoli prefers a cool climate, between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and moist soil to mature in 100 to 120 days. It does not tolerate frost.
Nutritional Benefits
Broccoli is the superhero of the vegetable kingdom with its rich vitamin A content--notice broccoli's dark green color as an indicator of its hearty carotene content. Though a bit on the bitter side, broccoli leaves are completely edible and also contain generous amounts of vitamin A.
With one half-cup of cooked broccoli providing 1083 IU of vitamin A and raw offering 678 IU, this veggie should make a frequent appearance at your dinner table. Folic acid is also abundant with one-half cup cooked registering 39 mcg and raw 31.2 mcg.
A cup of broccoli gives you 10% of your daily iron requirement, and the vitamin C content helps the body to absorb the iron.
One cup of cooked broccoli has as much vitamin C as an orange, and one third of a pound has more vitamin C than two and one-half pounds of oranges. A serving of one-half cup cooked broccoli offers 58.2 mg while the raw stores 41 mg. A cup of broccoli actually fulfills your daily vitamin C requirement
If you're a calorie counter, count broccoli in with only 22 calories for one-half cup chopped and boiled and 12 calories for one-half cup raw chopped.
Though this exceptional vegetable is not a powerhouse of protein, it does contain 2 grams for one-half cup boiled, and 1 gram for the same quantity of raw. These same figures apply to fiber as well with 2 grams, for the boiled and 1 gram for the raw broccoli.
Across the nutrition scale, broccoli contains all the nutrients mentioned above in addition to vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.
It is important to note that though the figures listed for raw broccoli seem lower, it is not because raw broccoli is inferior to cooked. Because raw broccoli contains more bulk or volume than the cooked, one must eat more to equal the figures for cooked. Cooking breaks down the volume of broccoli, making it easier to consume larger quantities.
Frozen broccoli contains about 35% more beta carotene than the fresh because the frozen packages consist mainly of the florets. Most of the beta carotene is stored in the florets. But don't jump too quickly. There's plenty of nutrition in those stems, such as extra calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C.
The darker colors of the florets, such as blue green, or purplish green contain more beta carotene and vitamin C than those with lighter greens.
Medicinal Benefits
Though definitive proof is not yet published, the National Cancer Institute suggests that broccoli, along with its cruciferous family members, may be important in the prevention of some types of cancer.
Because of its impressive nutritional profile that includes beta carotene, vitamin C, calcium, fiber, and phytochemicals, specifically indoles and aromatic isothiocynates, broccoli and its kin may be responsible for boosting certain enzymes that help to detoxify the body. These enzymes help to prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure.
Broccoli along with onions, carrots, and cabbage may also help to lower blood cholesterol. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture's regional research center in Philadelphia, two researchers, Dr. Peter Hoagland and Dr. Philip Pfeffer, discovered these vegetables contain a certain pectin fiber called calcium pectate that binds to bile acids, holding more cholesterol in the liver and releasing less into the bloodstream. They found broccoli equally as effective as some cholesterol lowering drugs.
Broccoli's wealth of the trace mineral, chromium, may be effective in preventing adult-onset diabetes in some people. At the Beltsville, Maryland, Human Research Laboratories of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dr. Richard Anderson, a diabetes expert, found that chromium boosts the ability of insulin to perform better in people with slight glucose intolerance.
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