Broccoli
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While broccoli was brought from Italy to France by Catherine de Medici in
1533 when she married Henri II (her arrival marked the beginning of the
creation of French haute cuisine), and even though Thomas Jefferson
cultivated organic broccoli in his garden, broccoli didn't really become
popular in the U.S. until after World War II. The name "broccoli" is the
Italian plural diminuitive of "brocco", meaning a shoot or sprout.
Interestingly, while cooks can easily tell the difference between
cauliflower and broccoli, botanists cannot, in terms of what differentiates
one sprouting head of the brassica family from another.
Fall broccoli can be sweeter than summer broccoli because cool weather
sweetens its taste. It is also a vegetable that freezes well --- and which,
like corn, tastes remarkably more wonderful the day it is picked than any
day afterwards.
Never cook broccoli in pans made of aluminum or copper, which react to the
sulfur compounds in the vegetable, creating both nasty odors and flavors and
destroying Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and folic acid.
Broccoli stalks are absolutely as edible as broccoli flowers; when shaved
into thin strips, raw, they make excellent appetizers. Broccoli leaves are
also good food, and contain tons of Vitamin A.
