If cauliflower isn’t a smart dietary choice, why does it look like a brain? Cauliflower is winning new fans who are discovering its versatility, mild flavor, and “meatiness.” Its admirers also often use it as a “low-carb,” gluten-free substitute for bread and pasta (though 78% of its calories come from carbohydrates). And riced cauliflower and cauliflower pizza crust are offered in both grocery stores and restaurants.
Information gathered for a large-scale study called the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has shown cauliflower to be an especially popular cruciferous vegetable in 10 western European countries, tying for first place with cabbage for the vegetable consumed most frequently. Here is how cauliflower stacked up against other cruciferous vegetables as a percentage of all vegetables eaten:cauliflower (25%); white cabbage (13%), and cabbage “unspecified” (12%). It is also interesting to compare cauliflower with broccoli in the study findings since cauliflower accounted for a greater percentage of total vegetable consumption than broccoli (18%).
But aside from its culinary popularity, the health-promoting power of cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower is nothing short of extraordinary. This group of veggies offers a wide variety of health benefits, but is especially noteworthy for its anticancer properties . Let’s take a look at the benefits of eating cauliflower, as well as how you can prepare it at home. But first, let’s talk more about this vegetable and get to know more about it.
Cauliflower – a Cruciferous Vegetable
While many people recognize cauliflower as a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, this popular plant is more closely connected with its fellow “crucifers” than people might realize. Cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens, kale, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli all belong to the same genus and species of plant ( Brassica oleracea ) and this degree of commonality among popular plant foods is somewhat unusual. While the traditional family name for this group of foods is “cruciferous vegetables,” many scientists are tending away from the science name Crucifereae for this plant family and more toward the name Brassicaceae . So you will also hear cauliflower being referred to as not only a “cruciferous” vegetable but a “brassica” vegetable as well. (In Latin, the word ” brassica ” means “cabbage.”)
In the U.S., most cauliflower varieties have been selected for their formation of a fairly large compact head (which is also called the “curd”). The cauliflower head is actually a closely packed arrangement of undeveloped flower buds. Surrounding the curd are ribbed, coarse green leaves that help shield this part of the plant from sunlight. This shielding of the cauliflower head also discourages the development of chlorophyll in the head and is one of the reasons that this portion of the plant is typically not bright green in color. (That being said, there are green varieties of cauliflower available in the marketplace.) The raw cauliflower head tends to be firm yet slightly spongy in texture and can have a slightly sulfur-like flavor, which some people also describe as faintly bitter. However, it is also common for people to describe the cauliflower flavor as nutty and slightly sweet.
Cauliflower and broccoli are so closely related that some naturally occurring varieties of cauliflower are often referred to by both names. Romanesco cauliflower—also called romanesco broccoli—is a perfect example. This variety of Brassica oleracea has a flavor somewhere in between cauliflower and broccoli and a highly distinct appearance in which the compact cauliflower head rises upward in a tree-like or pyramidal shape. Romanesco cauliflower is also sometimes referred to as broccoflower, but this name is more commonly used to refer to yet different cultivars of cauliflower with a green head (or curd). As you can see, it is sometimes difficult to clearly differentiate between cauliflower and broccoli due to the strong biological overlap between these foods. It’s also interesting to note that in most market analyses of broccoli imports and exports, the two foods are grouped together into a single category.
Cauliflower Nutrition
Cauliflower is a nutritional powerhouse, offering an array of vitamins and minerals that are excellent for your health.
Boiling cauliflower causes it to lose some of its vitamins and minerals in the cooking water. But steamed cauliflower loses far less. And whether steamed, boiled, or raw, cauliflower is rich in micronutrients like phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C, folate, and vitamin K1, as well as antioxidants. Like most other plant foods, it also contains small amounts of all nine essential amino acids.
While cauliflower is great for you no matter how you prepare it, research shows that you’ll get the most antioxidants ? like polyphenols and flavonoid compounds ? from eating it raw. Extracts from cooked cauliflower showed lower antioxidant activity than uncooked extracts. Steaming is the next best option, followed by boiling.
Cauliflower and the other cruciferous veggies contain an extensively studied set of plant compounds that turn into the powerful cancer-fighting phytonutrient sulforaphane . Specifically, the isothiocyanate compound glucoraphanin interacts with the enzyme myrosinase and converts into sulforaphane.
To activate sulforaphane , you can eat cauliflower raw (chewing does the trick); chop it and let it sit for about 40 minutes before cooking; or combine it, after cooking, with a bit of other raw cruciferous veggies such as grated cabbage or dry mustard powder. Also responsible for the strong smell of cruciferous veggies (nature’s way of warding off pests), sulforaphane is a potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory , brain-protective , anticancer , and antimicrobia l properties.
Cauliflower Health Benefits
Thanks to many of the nutrients and antioxidant compounds it contains, cauliflower offers a number of health benefits that may convince you to enjoy it on a regular basis (if you’re not already an enthusiastic cauliflower eater).
1. May offer antimicrobial benefits.
Like all cruciferous veggies, cauliflower is chock full of compounds studied for their ability to fight off various germs. For instance, a 2015 petri dish study found that cauliflower byproducts were able to slow the growth of, and in some instances even help kill off, harmful germs responsible for foodborne illnesses, such as E.coli and Listeria . The most effective pairing was putting cauliflower up against Salmonella Typhimurium , a common bacteria in eggs.
2. May offer anticancer benefits.
Cruciferous vegetables are one of the best ways to help your body protect itself against diseases like cancer. This is because the Brassica family of veggies is so high in disease-fighting nutrients like fiber, vitamins C, E, K, folate, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and several minerals. They also contain sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates, which, as we’ve seen, can convert to sulforaphane.
Other glucosinolates are broken down into compounds called indoles and isothiocyanates. All these compounds have been observed to help inhibit cancer cell growth and spread in lab and animal studies. Researchers think this is because they can help protect cells from DNA damage, offer anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits, kill cancer cells, inactivate carcinogens, and prevent blood vessels from forming in tumors that would otherwise allow them to grow.
While human research is nuanced , there’s strong reason to believe that eating cruciferous veggies is a good idea to help keep your cells healthy.
3. May help with blood clotting and bone strength.
Cauliflower is high in vitamin K1, also called phylloquinone, which is known as the “coagulation” vitamin. Vitamin K1 helps to form essential blood clots where needed. If you don’t get enough vitamin K1, you are more likely to experience hemorrhaging, or excessive bleeding, from a wound. Vitamin K is also good for helping to regulate your calcium balance , and studies show that it helps build strong teeth and bones.
4. May be beneficial for the immune system.
You’ll find a good amount of vitamin C in cauliflower. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that’s known to support a healthy immune response. And it’s important to get enough vitamin C from foods like cauliflower because humans can’t make it ourselves. One cup of raw, chopped cauliflower florets will give you about 52 mg of vitamin C, which is more than two-thirds of the recommended dietary allowance for adults.
5. May help protect against kidney disease.
A 2021 study examined how sulforaphane in cruciferous veggies like cauliflower may actually help fight off oxidative damage in kidney disease. Apparently, it does this by activating what’s called the Nrf2 pathway in the body (no, it has nothing to do with “Nerf” foam footballs). This pathway is responsible for helping the body make its own antioxidants “in-house” that can then be directed to fight off damaging reactive oxygen species where needed.
WHFoods Recommendations
You’ll want to include cauliflower as one of the cruciferous vegetables you eat on a regular basis if you want to receive the fantastic health benefits provided by the cruciferous vegetable family. At a minimum, we recommend 3/4 cup of cruciferous vegetables on a daily basis. This amount is equivalent to approximately 5 cups per week. A more optimal intake amount would be 1-1/2 cups per day, or about 10 cups per week. You can use our Veggie Advisor for help in figuring out your best cruciferous vegetable options.
As with all vegetables, be sure not to overcook cauliflower. We suggest Healthy Sautéeing cauliflower rather than the more traditional methods of boiling or steaming, which makes it waterlogged, mushy and lose much of its flavor. Cut cauliflower florets into quarters and let sit for 5 minutes before cooking. For great tasting cauliflower add 1 teaspoon of turmeric when adding the cauliflower to the skillet.
How to Cook & Prepare Cauliflower
Cauliflower works well as an appetizer, a main entree, or a side dish. Its relatively neutral flavor allows plenty of opportunities for experimentation in the kitchen.
As a starter, use cauliflower to make dips, veggie tots, or breaded cauliflower floret “wings.” As a side dish, it works well cooked and made into a rice or mash, or simply tossed with a sauce or flavorful spices. And as a main dish, cauliflower lends itself well to a stir-fry, used in pizza crust or as a pizza topping, in pasta dishes and curries, blended into creamy soups, or sliced and made into cauliflower “steaks.”
The best cooking method depends on how you want to use your cauliflower. You can eat it raw, chopped into florets with a dip like hummus, or as a raw cauliflower rice base for “grain” salads. You can also enjoy cauliflower cooked in a number of ways, like boiled, stir-fried, air-fried, baked, roasted, steamed, grilled, or microwaved. If you’re looking to keep most of the water-soluble nutrients, like vitamin C, intact in your cauliflower, avoid cooking methods that use water. Instead, try baking or roasting it.
How to Select and Store
When purchasing cauliflower, look for a clean, creamy white, compact curd in which the bud clusters are not separated. Spotted or dull-colored cauliflower should be avoided, as well as those in which small flowers appear.
Heads that are surrounded by many thick green leaves are better protected and will be fresher. As its size is not related to its quality, choose one that best suits your needs.
At WHFoods, we encourage the purchase of certified organically grown foods, and cauliflower is no exception. Repeated research studies on organic foods as a group show that your likelihood of exposure to contaminants such as pesticides and heavy metals can be greatly reduced through the purchased of certified organic foods, including cauliflower. In many cases, you may be able to find a local organic grower who sells cauliflower but has not applied for formal organic certification either through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or through a state agency. (Examples of states offering state-certified organic foods include California, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.) However, if you are shopping in a large supermarket, your most reliable source of organically grown cauliflower is very likely to be cauliflower that display the USDA organic logo
Store uncooked cauliflower in a paper or plastic bag in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to a week. To prevent moisture from developing in the floret clusters, store it with the stem side down.
Here is some background on why we recommend refrigerating cauliflower. Whenever food is stored, four basic factors affect its nutrient composition:exposure to air, exposure to light, exposure to heat, and length of time in storage. Vitamin C, vitamin B6, and carotenoids are good examples of nutrients highly susceptible to heat, and for this reason, their loss from food is very likely to be slowed down through refrigeration.
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