Cauliflower

Brassica oleracea var. botrytis · Brassica

3 varieties40 pairings

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is a cool-season brassica grown for its dense white head — a tight dome of thousands of arrested flower buds packed into a single edible "curd." Mild, faintly sweet and cabbage-like raw, it turns nutty and sulfurous when cooked and meltingly tender when roasted, and is the same species as cabbage, broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts.

Picking a good onedrag

Tight white curdRicey, speckled, sulfurous

Trimmed and tightThe standard shop head: roast, steam, rice or purée.Everyday best

CurdIvory, or a faint green cast, still tight

HeftFirm and dense, no give

Stalk and leavesLeaves trimmed short, cut face drying pale

SmellFaintly green and sweet

What to look for, from tight white curd to ricey, speckled, sulfurous.

What one gives you

39%

Usable yield

588 g · leaves, core and stalk out

1508 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 8× longer than the counter.

Humidity

95–98%

A perforated bag in the crisper drawer; in dry fridge air the curd goes cottony and dull and the jacket leaves wilt in a day or two.

Airflow

Vented, kept dry

Perforated, never airtight: water sitting on the curd brings brown spot and soft rot, and a sealed bag turns it sulfurous.

Ethylene browns the curd

It makes almost none itself but is highly sensitive: ethylene off apples, tomatoes and melons browns the curd and yellows the leaves.

Preparing