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Cauliflower: kinds, colors and recipes

08.07.2022 (Updated: 08.07.2022)

It’s related to mustard, cabbage, Brussel sprouts and broccoli, among others. Although most people are familar with ehite cauliflower, the color can be green, yellow and purple too.

White, yellow and purple cauliflower
Image by Reinhard Thrainer from Pixabay

But color isn’t the only thing that differentiates cauliflower varieties. The vegetable can also be classified according to geographic origin. There’s Italian, Northern European, Northwest European and Asian cauliflowers.

Romanesco cauliflower / broccoli
Image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay

Then, there’s the Romanesco which is sold either as Romanesco cauliflower or Romanesco broccoli, but which is neither real cauliflower nor real broccoli. Rather, it is a flower bud of Brassica oleracea to which both cauliflower and broccoli belong.

But this isn’t a blog about horticulcture so I’ll leave the nitty gritty to the experts. Here at home, we have access to white cauliflower and that’s the only kind we’ve ever cooked with. I saw Romanesco in a high end grocery once and although it was tempting to try it (I’ve heard that the taste is part-cauliflower and part-broccoli), the price tag made me turn away.

So, white cauliflower. First, a tip for buying. Choose a head that is firm with no dark and soft spots. The leaves should be bright and crisp with no frayed edges. Dark and soft spots, and frayed edges of leaves are all signs of a cauliflower that is way past its prime. Most likely, it had been sitting on the grocery shelf for several days.

Head of cauliflower cut into halves
Image by Alois Grundner from Pixabay

How do we prep and cook it at home? Cauliflower is almost always sold as a whole “head” wrapped in leaves. You’ll rarely find a recipe that includes the leaves and thick stalks but, like broccoli, cauliflower stalks and leaves are edible too.

The most common way to prep a cauliflower is to first peel off the leaves. The “head” is cut into halves, the core is removed and the remainder of the head is cut into florets.

Cauliflower snd florets on choppong board with knife
Image by Светлана from Pixabay

Cauliflower florets can be steamed, roasted, grilled, stir fried, boiled… Because it is low-calorie and also gluten-free, it has become so popular in the 21st century as cooks find so many ways to cook it and, often, turn it into a substitute for meat and even rice.

Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Florets

Crispy Buffalo cauliflower florets

Think of it as vegetarian Buffalo chicken wings — batter-coated cauliflower florets tossed in thick and sticky sweet-salty-spicy sauce that coats the florets without ruining the crispness.

Get the recipeCrispy Buffalo cauliflower florets
Fried rice style warm cauliflower salad

Fried rice style cauliflower

Some food bloggers call it cauliflower fried rice although there is no rice in this dish. Instead, chopped or grated cauliflower is substituted for rice for a low-carb side dish.

Get the recipeFried rice style cauliflower
Crispy chili honey cauliflower

Crispy chili honey cauliflower

It’s the age of cauliflower. It’s low carb and low fat, so it’s the darling of dieters. But we’re not dieters here at home. We love cauliflower because of its texture and its versatility. There are just so many ways to cook it.

Get the recipeCrispy chili honey cauliflower

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, the blog owner earns commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

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Connie Veneracion, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Home cook and writer by passion, photographer by necessity, and good food, coffee and wine lover forever. I write recipes, cooking tips and food stories. No AI is used in creating content for this blog.

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