Broccoli

Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species ''Brassica oleracea''. Broccoli has large flower heads, or florets, usually dark green, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick stalk, which is usually light green. Leaves surround the mass of flower heads. Broccoli resembles cauliflower, a different but closely related cultivar group of the same ''Brassica'' species.

It can be eaten either raw or cooked. Broccoli is a particularly rich source of vitamin C and vitamin K. Contents of its characteristic sulfur-containing glucosinolate compounds, isothiocyanates and sulforaphane, are diminished by boiling but are better preserved by steaming, microwaving or stir-frying.

Rapini, sometimes called "broccoli rabe", is a distinct species from broccoli, forming similar but smaller heads, and is actually a type of turnip ('' Brassica rapa'').

Taxonomy

''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'' was described in 1794 by Joseph Jakob von Plenck in ''Icones Plantarum Medicinalium'' 6:29, t. 534. Like all the other ''brassicas'', broccoli was developed from the wild cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var. oleracea), also called colewort or field cabbage.

Etymology

The word ''broccoli'', first used in the 17th century, comes from the Italian plural of ', which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage", and is the diminutive form of ''brocco'', meaning "small nail" or "sprout".

History

Broccoli resulted from the breeding of landrace ''Brassica'' crops in the northern Mediterranean starting in about the sixth century BCE. Broccoli has its origins in primitive cultivars grown in the Roman Empire and was most likely improved via artificial selection in the southern Italian Peninsula or in Sicily. Broccoli was spread to northern Europe by the 18th century and brought to North America in the 19th century by Italian immigrants. After the Second World War, the breeding of the United States and Japanese F1 hybrids increased yields, quality, growth speed, and regional adaptation, which produced the cultivars commonly grown since then: 'Premium Crop', 'Packman', and 'Marathon'.

Description

Broccoli is an annual cruciferous plant which can grow up to tall.

Broccoli inflorescence grows at the end of a central, edible stem and is dark green. Violet, yellow, or even white heads have been created, but these varieties are rare. The flowers are yellow with four petals.

The growth season for broccoli is 14–15 weeks. Broccoli is collected by hand immediately after the head is fully formed yet the flowers are still in their bud stage. The plant develops numerous small "heads" from the lateral shoots which can be harvested later.

Varieties

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 green heads and thick stalks. It is a cool-season annual crop. ''Sprouting broccoli'' (white or purple) has a larger number of heads with many thin stalks. ''Purple cauliflower'' or ''violet cauliflower'' is a type of broccoli grown in Europe and North America. It has a head shaped like cauliflower but consists of many tiny flower buds. Sometimes, but not always, it has a purple cast to the tips of the flower buds. Purple cauliflower may also be white, red, green, or other colors.

''Beneforté'' is a variety of broccoli containing 2–3 times more glucoraphanin and produced by crossing broccoli with a wild Brassica variety, ''Brassica oleracea'' var ''villosa''.

Other cultivar groups of ''Brassica oleracea''

Other cultivar groups of ''Brassica oleracea'' include cabbage (Capitata Group), cauliflower and Romanesco broccoli (Botrytis Group), kale (Acephala Group), collard (Viridis Group), kohlrabi (Gongylodes Group), Brussels sprouts (Gemmifera Group), and kai-lan (Alboglabra Group). As these groups are the same species, they readily hybridize: for example, broccolini or "Tenderstem broccoli" is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan. Broccoli cultivars form the genetic basis of the "tropical cauliflowers" commonly grown in South and Southeastern Asia, although they produce a more cauliflower-like head in warmer conditions.

Cultivation

The majority of broccoli cultivars are cool-weather crops that do poorly in hot summer weather. Broccoli grows best when exposed to an average daily temperature between . When the cluster of flowers, also referred to as a "head" of broccoli, appears in the center of the plant, the cluster is generally green. Garden pruners or shears are used to cut the head about from the tip. Broccoli should be harvested before the flowers on the head bloom bright yellow. Broccoli cannot be harvested using machines, but rather is hand-harvested.

Production

In 2023, global production of broccoli (combined for production reports with cauliflowers) was 26.5 million tonnes, with China and India together accounting for 65% of the world total (table). Secondary producers, each having about one million tonnes or less annually, were the United States, Mexico, and Spain.

In the United States, broccoli is grown year-round in California – which produced 92% of the crop nationally – with 95% of the total crop produced for fresh sales in 2018.

Nutrition

Raw broccoli is 89% water, 7% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). A reference amount of raw broccoli provides of food energy and is a rich source (20% or higher of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (99% DV) and vitamin K (85% DV) (table). Raw broccoli also contains moderate amounts (10–19% DV) of several B vitamins and the dietary mineral potassium, whereas other micronutrients are low in content (less than 10% DV). Broccoli contains the dietary carotenoid, beta-carotene.

Cooking

Boiling substantially reduces the levels of broccoli glucosinolates, while other cooking methods, such as steaming, microwaving, and stir-frying, have no significant effect on glucosinolate levels.

Taste

The perceived bitterness of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, results from glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, particularly isothiocyanates and other sulfur-containing compounds. Preliminary research indicates that genetic inheritance through the gene TAS2R38 may be responsible in part for bitter taste perception in broccoli.

Pests

The larvae of '' Pieris rapae'', also known as the "small white" butterfly, are a common pest in broccoli and were mostly introduced accidentally to North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Additional pests common to broccoli production include:
* Aphids
* Cabbage looper
* Cabbage webworm
* Cross-striped cabbageworm
* Diamondback moth
* Imported cabbageworm
* Cabbage maggot
* Harlequin cabbage bug

Gallery

NRCSAZ02078 - Arizona (439)(NRCS Photo Gallery).jpg, Furrow flood irrigation on a field of broccoli raised for seed in Yuma, Arizona.
Broccoli flowers 2525385935 e13d4de4c4 b.jpg, Broccoli in flower
Cavolfiore Violetto di Sicilia.jpg, Sicilian purple broccoli
巨無霸青花菜 20191121171730.jpg, Broccoli "giant", whose flowering head and stalk can reach a kilo.

See also

* Broccolini
* Epicuticular wax
* George H. W. Bush broccoli comments; the 41st U.S. president famously disliked the vegetable
* Microgreen

References

External links

PROTAbase on ''Brassica oleracea (cauliflower and broccoli)''
(archived 10 February 2016)


USDA/ARS Vegetable Laboratory

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Brassica
Crops originating from Europe
Edible plants
Food plant cultivars
Inflorescence vegetables
Italian words and phrases