Broccoli

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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.<ref name="Nugrahedi">Template:Cite journal</ref>

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).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Broccoli plants in a nursery

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Close-ups of broccoli florets (click to enlarge)

TaxonomyEdit

Brassica oleracea var. italica was described in 1794 by Joseph Jakob von Plenck in Icones Plantarum Medicinalium 6:29, t. 534.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Like all the other brassicas, broccoli was developed from the wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. oleracea), also called colewort or field cabbage.

EtymologyEdit

The word broccoli, first used in the 17th century, comes from the Italian plural of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage", and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning "small nail" or "sprout".<ref>Template:Cite dictionary</ref>

HistoryEdit

Broccoli resulted from the breeding of landrace Brassica crops in the northern Mediterranean starting in about the sixth century BCE.<ref name="VB">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="NI">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Stansell 1–10">Template:Cite journal</ref> Broccoli was spread to northern Europe by the 18th century and brought to North America in the 19th century by Italian immigrants.<ref name=":0" /> 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'.<ref name=":0" />

DescriptionEdit

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Broccoli flower

Broccoli is an annual cruciferous plant which can grow up to Template:Cvt tall.<ref name="Britannica">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Broccoli inflorescence grows at the end of a central, edible stem and is dark green.<ref name="Britannica"/> 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.

VarietiesEdit

There are three commonly grown types of broccoli.<ref name=":0" /> The most familiar is Calabrese broccoli, often referred to simply as "broccoli", named after Calabria in Italy. It has large Template:Convert 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other cultivar groups of Brassica oleraceaEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} 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).<ref name=Dixon2007>Template:Cite book</ref> As these groups are the same species, they readily hybridize: for example, broccolini or "Tenderstem broccoli" is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":0" />

Broccoli production
Template:Small
Template:CHN	9.7
{{#invoke:flag	India}}	9.5
Template:USA	1.1
Template:MEX	0.8
{{#invoke:flag	Spain}}	0.6
World	26.5
Template:Small<ref name="fao">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref>

CultivationEdit

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 Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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 Template:Convert from the tip. Broccoli should be harvested before the flowers on the head bloom bright yellow.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Broccoli cannot be harvested using machines, but rather is hand-harvested.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ProductionEdit

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.<ref name="amrc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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NutritionEdit

Raw broccoli is 89% water, 7% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). A Template:Convert reference amount of raw broccoli provides Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal PDF</ref>

CookingEdit

Template:See also 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.<ref name=Nugrahedi/>

TasteEdit

The perceived bitterness of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, results from glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, particularly isothiocyanates and other sulfur-containing compounds.<ref name="Bell">Template:Cite journal</ref> Preliminary research indicates that genetic inheritance through the gene TAS2R38 may be responsible in part for bitter taste perception in broccoli.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

PestsEdit

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Additional pests common to broccoli production include:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GalleryEdit

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Furrow flood irrigation on a field of broccoli raised for seed in Yuma, Arizona.
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Broccoli in flower
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Sicilian purple broccoli
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Broccoli "giant", whose flowering head and stalk can reach a kilo.