Why let it sit after cutting?

Cutting starts an enzyme reaction that produces sulforaphane (a compound in broccoli and other cabbage-family vegetables). Ten minutes on the board before heat lets that reaction finish. Heat applied straight away stops it.

Is white cauliflower less nutritious than green vegetables?

Less carotene, yes, but it holds its own on vitamin C, fibre and the sulfur compounds. Colour isn't the whole story here.

Why does boiling smell so bad?

The sulfur compounds break down further in hot water. Roast or steam instead and the smell mostly disappears.

Does it really cause that much wind?

For some people, yes. Cooking it well and adding cumin genuinely helps, which is why both are traditional.

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Chapter 1 of 15

Cauliflower

If You Read Nothing Else

Cut it and let it sit ten minutes before cooking. That is when the sulforaphane (a compound in broccoli and other cabbage-family vegetables) forms.

Steaming keeps those compounds; long boiling washes them into the water.

A cup gives most of a day's vitamin C for about 27 calories.

It causes wind in some people. Persian cooks solved that with cumin and golpar centuries ago.

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