Broccoli

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For other uses, see Broccoli (disambiguation).
Broccoli
Broccoli and cross section edit.jpg
Species Brassica oleracea
Cultivar group Italica Group
Origin Italy, more than 2,000 years ago[1][2]

Broccoli is an edible green plant in the cabbage family whose large flowerhead is eaten as a vegetable.

The word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage", and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning "small nail" or "sprout".[3] Broccoli is often boiled or steamed but may be eaten raw.[4]

Broccoli is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli has large flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick, edible stalk. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli resembles cauliflower, which is a different cultivar group of the same species.

Broccoli is a result of careful breeding of cultivated leafy cole crops in the northern Mediterranean starting in about the 6th century BC.[5] Since the time of the Roman Empire, broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians.[6] Broccoli was brought to England from Antwerp in the mid-18th century by Peter Scheemakers.[7] Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants, but did not become widely known there until the 1920s.[8]

Varieties

Broccoli plants in a nursery

There are three commonly grown types of broccoli. The most familiar is Calabrese broccoli, often referred to simply as "broccoli", named after Calabria in Italy. It has large (10 to 20 cm) green heads and thick stalks. It is a cool season annual crop. Sprouting broccoli has a larger number of heads with many thin stalks. Purple cauliflower is a type of broccoli sold in southern Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It has a head shaped like cauliflower, but consisting of tiny flower buds. It sometimes, but not always, has a purple cast to the tips of the flower buds.

Other cultivar groups of Brassica oleracea include cabbage (Capitata Group), cauliflower and Romanesco broccoli (Botrytis Group), kale and collard greens (Acephala Group), kohlrabi (Gongylodes Group), Brussels sprouts (Gemmifera Group), and kai-lan (Alboglabra Group).[9] Rapini, sometimes called "broccoli raab" among other names, forms similar but smaller heads, and is actually a type of turnip (Brassica rapa). Broccolini or "Tenderstem broccoli" is a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Beneforté is a variety of broccoli containing 2-3 times more glucoraphanin that was produced by crossing broccoli with a wild Brassica variety, Brassica oleracea var villosa.[10]

Production

Major producers of broccoli[11]
(combined with cauliflowers) in millions of tonnes
Country Production
 People's Republic of China
9.1
 India
7.9
 Spain
0.5
 Mexico
0.5
 Italy
0.4
World
22.3

In 2013, global production of broccoli (combined for production reports with cauliflowers) was 22.3 million tonnes, with China and India together accounting for 76% of the total (table).[11] Secondary producers, each having about 0.5 million tonnes annually, were Spain, Mexico and Italy (table).[11]

Cultivation

Broccoli is a cool-weather crop that does poorly in hot summer weather. Broccoli grows best when exposed to an average daily temperature between 18 and 23 °C (64 and 73 °F).[12] When the cluster of flowers, also referred to as a "head" of broccoli, appear in the center of the plant, the cluster is green. Garden pruners or shears are used to cut the head about an inch from the tip. Broccoli should be harvested before the flowers on the head bloom bright yellow.[13]

While the heading broccoli variety performs poorly in hot weather, mainly due to insect infestation, the sprouting variety is more resistant, though attention must be paid to sucking insects (such as aphids), caterpillars and whiteflies. Spraying of bacillus thuringiensis can control caterpillar attacks, while a citronella vase may ward off whiteflies.[14]

Pests

Mostly introduced by accident, "cabbage worms", the larvae of Pieris rapae, the small white butterfly are a common pest in broccoli.

Nutrition

Broccoli, raw (edible parts)
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 141 kJ (34 kcal)
6.64 g
Sugars 1.7 g
Dietary fiber 2.6 g
0.37 g
2.82 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
(4%)
31 μg
(3%)
361 μg
1403 μg
Thiamine (B1)
(6%)
0.071 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(10%)
0.117 mg
Niacin (B3)
(4%)
0.639 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
(11%)
0.573 mg
Vitamin B6
(13%)
0.175 mg
Folate (B9)
(16%)
63 μg
Vitamin C
(107%)
89.2 mg
Vitamin E
(5%)
0.78 mg
Vitamin K
(97%)
101.6 μg
Minerals
Calcium
(5%)
47 mg
Iron
(6%)
0.73 mg
Magnesium
(6%)
21 mg
Manganese
(10%)
0.21 mg
Phosphorus
(9%)
66 mg
Potassium
(7%)
316 mg
Sodium
(2%)
33 mg
Zinc
(4%)
0.41 mg
Other constituents
Water 89.3 g
Full Link to USDA Database entry
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

A 100 gram serving of raw broccoli provides 34 calories and is an excellent source (> 19% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C and vitamin K (table). Raw broccoli also contains moderate amounts (10-19% DV) of several B vitamins and the dietary mineral, manganese, whereas other essential nutrients are in low content (table). Broccoli has low content of carbohydrates, protein, fat and dietary fiber (table).

Boiling broccoli reduces the levels of sulforaphane, with losses of 20–30% after five minutes, 40–50% after ten minutes, and 77% after thirty minutes.[15][16] However, other preparation methods such as steaming,[16][17] microwaving, and stir frying had no significant effect on the compounds.[15]

Broccoli also contains the carotenoid compounds, lutein and zeaxanthin (table) in amounts about 6 times lower than in kale.

Gallery
Close-ups of broccoli florets 
Sicilian purple broccoli 
Romanesco broccoli (actually a cauliflower cultivar), showing fractal forms 
Broccoli in flower 

See also

References

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  7. ↑ Smith,J.T. Nollekins and His Times, 1829 vol. 2:101: "Scheemakers, on his way to England, visited his birth-place, bringing with him several roots [sic] of brocoli, a dish till then little known in perfection at our tables."
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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