Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a nutritious garden vegetable belonging to the mustard family (Family Brassicaceae or Cruciferae). Its scientific name is Brassica oleracea var. botrytis.Rich in vitamin or minerals, like any vegetable, you get the most out of eating it raw, as all the nutrients are still there. Cauliflower is most commonly eaten cooked, but it may also be pickled, and is often sold in that form commercially with pickled onions and pickles (pickled cucumbers).
Only the head of the cauliflower is eaten, a part known as the white curd. This is a thickly clustered part of the plant that consists of a stalk of flower buds. This stalk is surrounded at the base by thick, green leaves.
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As soon as the head appears, gardeners tie the plant's leaves over the head in order to blanch it, a process allowing it to stay white. They must harvest the plant once it has reached what they presume to be its full size and ripened fully, but be diligent not to wait too long, or else it will flower.
The vegetable requires a cool, moist climate. If temperatures go too high, the plants will not produce flower heads. If too low a temperature is reached, the plants might button, creating small, unusable heads.
Most of the vegetable produced in the United States comes from the state of California.Harvesting the vegetable
The delicate process
Where it is grown
