Wonderful Facts about Broccoli you need to know About

Agric4Profits February 16, 2023May 27, 2023 0 Comments Crops

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) is a cruciferous vegetable related to cabbage, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. It is one of the popular vegetables that can be consumed both raw and cooked but recent research shows that gentle steaming provides the most health benefits.

Broccoli is high in many nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. It also boasts more protein than most other vegetables.

According to definition, Broccoli is an edible green plant in the cabbage family whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

According to description, Broccoli is a branched, green vegetable with either purple or more commonly green flower buds. It belongs to the cruciferous family, along with cauliflower, cabbage and kale and it can be eaten raw or cooked, with just 80g (about 2 spears) counting as one of your five-a-day.

Am certain that once you know these six broccoli facts, you wll never look at a head of broccoli the same way again! (You can also use these facts to impress your friends and family at the dinner table and make them enjoy the wonderful broccoli dishes available.)

Wonderful Facts about Broccoli you need to know About

Below are more of the wonderful facts about broccoli you need to know about:

– Broccoli originated in Italy, where it was developed from wild cabbage and has existed since about sixth century B.C.

– The Italian name for broccoli is “broccolo,” meaning the flowering top of a cabbage. The word comes from the Latin word “brachium,” which means branch or arm, a reflection of the vegetable’s treelike shape.

– The plant came to France in 1560. Until the early 1700s, broccoli was still not widely known in England and was called “sprout colli-flower” or “Italian asparagus.”

– Thomas Jefferson was a fan of broccoli and imported broccoli seeds from Italy, planting them at his home, Monticello, as early as May 1767.

– Another president, George H.W. Bush, was not a fan. He used his distaste for broccoli as a punch line in dozens of speeches. He once said, “I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid, and my mother made me eat it.

And I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.” In response, broccoli growers sent 10 tons of the vegetable to the White House.

– In 2013, President Barack Obama announced that broccoli was his favorite food.

– California produces 90 percent of the broccoli grown in the United States.

– Vegetables related to broccoli are broccolini, a mix between broccoli and “gai-lin” (Chinese broccoli), and broccoflower, a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.

– The average American eats over 4 lbs. of broccoli a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

– The world record for eating broccoli is held by Tom “Broccoli” Landers. It took him just 92 seconds to eat a full pound of the vegetable. His secret: “Just swallow, don’t bother to chew.”

– The United States is the world’s third largest producer of broccoli. China, the top producer, grows over 8 million tons of the vegetable a year.