Broccoli is an Italian vegetable which often refers to the not yet bloomed flow heads called "crowns." However, the entire plant (flowers, stalks, and leaves) is also edible and tasty! After the plants first large crown is picked, the plant will produce several side shoots of small crowns call broccolettes. Some of these broccolettes resemble broccolini and can be eaten as such. The flavor of broccoli is slightly bitter, but milder than that of brussel sprouts. The bitter flavor is enhanced by boiling or blanching and reduced by roasting or stir frying.
Estimated Picking Dates: mid June to September
Cleaning/Preparing: Wash broccoli before use, but not before storage unless plants are very dirty and wet! Cut crown into smaller florets to improve cleaning. (Big crowns collect dirt and insects from water.) Soak in a bath of very cold water with salt for 10 minutes (to cause insects to die and float away from florets). Swish vigorously at surface of water. Let dirt settle to bottom and florets with float. Shake off excess water. Let drip dry in colander or towel.
Insects love to eat and live in broccoli! To reduce the amount of insects in our broccoli we rotated the location of the broccoli in our fields each year. We also encourage wrens and other looper caterpillar predators to live on our farm. My nieces catch the mature cabbage butterflies to prevent more eggs from being laid. And if all this does not keep the population of looper caterpillars down, we use an organic certified vegetable spray. Even with all this effort, you may find a looper caterpillar on your broccoli. Most will drown during washing and float to the bottom of the sink, but watch for them when you cut up your florets to serve. They hang out on the stalks below the flower buds and look like broccoli leaflets. The broccoli that is picked in June and the first week of July typically will be mostly free of loopers. I use this early broccoli for fresh eating for this reason. Late broccoli is more likely to have loopers which can be removed by blanching the florets in boiling water which means you need to use this broccoli for recipes in which the vegetable is cooked.
If you want to make sure your vegetables are sanitized use the following procedure: Veggie Wash
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 cup cold tap water in a spray bottle
Mix, shake well, and spritz on the vegetables. Rinse vegetables. Works best if cleanser remains on vegetables for 2 minutes before rinsing. Proceed with standard drying.
Storage: Loosely tied plastic bag (grocery bag with handles tied closed) and stored in the refrigerator. Refrigerated broccoli should last about a week. To freeze: cut to desired size florets and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes or steam for 5 minutes. Dry in colander and put in freezer zip top bag in freezer.
Preparing: Trim dry cut end to freshen up. Remove stalk and chop separately. Separate florets to desired size for recipe. Save stalks for pesto or soup if you do not want their texture in your recipe.
Featured Recipe: Cheddar Broccoli Soup
For more information and visual instruction on roasting broccoli watch "If It Ain't Broccoli, Don't Fix It" from Good Eats by Alton Brown.
Other common uses: Broccoli does not need to be relegated to veggie trays or over boiled green mush with butter. Broccoli is great roasted, steamed, and stir fried. Add to mac n' cheese. Make a cold or hot veggie pizza.
Substitutes: Broccoli is from the Brassica or cabbage family, which also includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Cauliflower, chard, and asparagus could also be substituted for Broccoli and vise versa.
Cleaning/Preparing: Wash broccoli before use, but not before storage unless plants are very dirty and wet! Cut crown into smaller florets to improve cleaning. (Big crowns collect dirt and insects from water.) Soak in a bath of very cold water with salt for 10 minutes (to cause insects to die and float away from florets). Swish vigorously at surface of water. Let dirt settle to bottom and florets with float. Shake off excess water. Let drip dry in colander or towel.
Insects love to eat and live in broccoli! To reduce the amount of insects in our broccoli we rotated the location of the broccoli in our fields each year. We also encourage wrens and other looper caterpillar predators to live on our farm. My nieces catch the mature cabbage butterflies to prevent more eggs from being laid. And if all this does not keep the population of looper caterpillars down, we use an organic certified vegetable spray. Even with all this effort, you may find a looper caterpillar on your broccoli. Most will drown during washing and float to the bottom of the sink, but watch for them when you cut up your florets to serve. They hang out on the stalks below the flower buds and look like broccoli leaflets. The broccoli that is picked in June and the first week of July typically will be mostly free of loopers. I use this early broccoli for fresh eating for this reason. Late broccoli is more likely to have loopers which can be removed by blanching the florets in boiling water which means you need to use this broccoli for recipes in which the vegetable is cooked.
If you want to make sure your vegetables are sanitized use the following procedure: Veggie Wash
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 cup cold tap water in a spray bottle
Mix, shake well, and spritz on the vegetables. Rinse vegetables. Works best if cleanser remains on vegetables for 2 minutes before rinsing. Proceed with standard drying.
Storage: Loosely tied plastic bag (grocery bag with handles tied closed) and stored in the refrigerator. Refrigerated broccoli should last about a week. To freeze: cut to desired size florets and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes or steam for 5 minutes. Dry in colander and put in freezer zip top bag in freezer.
Preparing: Trim dry cut end to freshen up. Remove stalk and chop separately. Separate florets to desired size for recipe. Save stalks for pesto or soup if you do not want their texture in your recipe.
Featured Recipe: Cheddar Broccoli Soup
For more information and visual instruction on roasting broccoli watch "If It Ain't Broccoli, Don't Fix It" from Good Eats by Alton Brown.
Other common uses: Broccoli does not need to be relegated to veggie trays or over boiled green mush with butter. Broccoli is great roasted, steamed, and stir fried. Add to mac n' cheese. Make a cold or hot veggie pizza.
Substitutes: Broccoli is from the Brassica or cabbage family, which also includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Cauliflower, chard, and asparagus could also be substituted for Broccoli and vise versa.