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Definition: cauliflower from Philip's Encyclopedia

Form of cabbage with a short thick stem, large lobed leaves and edible white or purplish flower clusters that form tightly compressed heads. Family Brassicaceae; species Brassica oleracea botrytis.


Cauliflower

From The Illustrated Cook's Book of Ingredients
This relative of the cabbage is grown in tropical and temperate climates throughout the world. While some varieties are green, purple, and orange, and sometimes pointed in shape, the most familiar type of cauliflower is a round, white head of densely packed curds, or florets. The curds are, in fact, the compacted tips of branching, unopened flowerheads. Cauliflower has a mild flavor when raw, becoming nutty when it is cooked. Fall is the season for the choicest cauliflower. Choose snow-white rather than creamy or yellowish heads. Reject any with brown spots or green leaves protruding through the curds, both signs of declining quality. Make sure the cut ends are fresh. Try to use cauliflower soon after you buy it, although it can be kept, loosely wrapped in a paper bag, in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. Fresh: Separate into small florets for salads and crudités. Cooked: Boil or steam whole or in florets; florets can also be roasted, baked in…
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Cauliflower is literally ‘flowered cabbage’. English probably borrowed and adapted the word from Italian cavoli fiori , plural of cavolo fiore ‘cabbage flower’. Cavolo came from late Latin caulus , a variant of Latin caulis ‘cabbage’. This word originally meant ‘stem’, but the notion ultimately…
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Full text Article cauliflower

From Library of Health and Living: The Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Good Health
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea botrytis) Source:...
A vegetable closely related to broccoli . Cauliflower, a true flower belonging to the cabbage family, was originally grown in Cyprus. The white head, called a curd, represents immature buds and stems that form slightly rounded, compact flower buds. The head of white cauliflower is surrounded by…
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Full text Article cauliflower

From The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion
cauliflower
In Mark Twain's words, “cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” The name of this elegant member of the cabbage family comes from the Latin caulis (“stalk”) and floris (“flower”). Cauliflower comes in three basic colors: white (the most popular and readily available), green, and…
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Full text Article cauliflower

From The Oxford Companion to Food
Brassica oleracea , Botrytis group, a variety of the common cabbage in which flowers have begun to form but have stopped growing at the bud stage. The same applies to broccoli . The thick stems under the buds act as storage organs for nutrients which would have gone into the flowers and eventual…
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cauliflower fungus
Sparassis crispa , which bears some resemblance to the white part of a cauliflower, or to a large sponge, measures up to 60 cm (2') across, and grows on rotting conifer stumps in the autumn, mainly in Europe and N. America. It should be picked and cooked young, while still pale cream in colour, or…
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Full text Article Romanesca cauliflower; Romanesco

From The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion
Though classified as (and also called) a summer cauliflower , this vegetable's appearance is so uniquely striking that it deserves its own listing. Like regular cauliflower, Romanesca has a tightly compact head of florets attached by clusters of stalks—but there the similarity in appearance ends. …
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Full text Article cauliflower

From The Chambers Dictionary
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Full text Article cauliflower

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea, variety...
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Full text Article cauliflower

From The Macquarie Dictionary
| 43 words
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Full text Article cauliflower

From Dictionary of Leisure, Travel and Tourism
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