cauliflower
Cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea var. Botrytis L. ), also cauliflower , cheese carbon , flowers carbon , grapes carbon , Minaret-carbon or Italian carbon called, is a cultivar of the vegetables cabbage ( Brassica oleracea ) with fleshy, together standing in a head flowers rungs as vegetables ( more precisely: as flowering vegetables ). Unlike other types of cabbage, the inflorescence forms in the first year. If the plants are not harvested, they “shoot”, the compressed shoot stretches and yellow flowers and then seeds are formed.
Origin and history
Cauliflower comes from the original form Brassica oleracea var. Silvestris , which is native to Asia Minor . It was mentioned as early as the 6th century. The crusaders then brought the seeds back to Italy from their crusades . It has been cultivated across Europe since the 16th century - first in Italy , and a short time later in France . One of the oldest illustrations can be found in the herb book by the botanist and doctor Joachim Camerarius the Younger , which was published towards the end of the 16th century. Today cauliflower is one of the most popular types of cabbage throughout Europe; the main exporters are France, Belgium and the Netherlands . Cauliflower is common all over the world today.
Economical meaning
In 2018 the were argued by the FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , about 26.5 million tons of cauliflower (and broccoli) harvested. The largest producers were China, India and the USA. The largest harvests in Europe were brought in from Spain, Italy and Poland. In Switzerland, 15,744 tons of cauliflower were consumed in 2018, just under 1.9 kilos per capita. 7,089 tons of this came from Switzerland. The cultivation area was around 580 hectares.
The following table gives an overview of the 10 largest producers of cauliflower (including broccoli) worldwide, who produced a total of 89.2% of the harvest.
| rank | country | Quantity (in t ) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 People's Republic of China
|
10,668,866 |
| 2 |
 India
|
8,800,000 |
| 3 |
 United States
|
1,204,696 |
| 4th |
 Mexico
|
728.721 |
| 5 |
 Spain
|
725.261 |
| 6th |
 Italy
|
368.117 |
| 7th |
 Turkey
|
294,743 |
| 8th |
 Poland
|
292,754 |
| 9 |
 France
|
287,333 |
| 10 |
 Bangladesh
|
274.297 |
| world | 26,504,007 |
Shapes and types
The Romanesco ( Brassica oleracea convar. Botrytis var. Botrytis ) is a variant of the cauliflower that was grown near Rome . The Romanesco forms flower sprouts instead of flowers. The cauliflower forms flower systems, but before the petals differentiate and are recognizable as such, it forms additional flower systems in the flower systems. The Romanesco shows in its shape the spiral arrangement of the flowers. The Romanesco is one of the few plants that show self-similarity in their inflorescence and thus a fractal structure as well as Fibonacci spirals . It is mostly eaten cooked, has a high content of vitamin C and exceeds cauliflower in this. It also contains numerous secondary plant substances ( flavonoids , glucosinolates and others). Is included in the cauliflower and sulforaphane .
Colored cauliflowers are grown especially in Italy and France. Violet and green cultivated forms are also widespread, the inflorescences of which are not completely enclosed by bracts and turn violet during growth when exposed to light, or other varieties turn green when exposed to light.
Cultivation
In order to increase the yield of cauliflower, CMS varieties (F1 hybrids) are mostly grown today . The cultivation takes place in fields and in private gardens. In Germany, harvesting outdoors is possible from spring to late autumn. In regions with a mild winter climate (e.g. Brittany, Spanish Mediterranean coast), cauliflower can also be harvested in winter. Cauliflower needs good humus rich soil in a warm, full sun. Sowing takes place in a heated greenhouse from February and outdoors from mid-April. Plant out at a distance of 50 × 50 cm. To protect against frost, cauliflower is covered with fleece. He is a heavy eater (needs a lot of nutrients) and tolerates fresh organic fertilizer. In the further course of growth, nitrogen (e.g. horn shavings ) can be given three or four more times as top dressing until the need is met. Regular hoeing and watering when it is dry promotes uniform growth. In strong sunlight, the flower should be covered with a leaf or something similar to avoid yellowing. The budding inflorescences that come on the market are usually white to ivory in color in Germany, as they were wrapped in leaves or covered with foil and thus protected from light. Unlike the closely related broccoli , they are harvested before the bracts have opened and the flowers are fully developed.
Diseases and pests
Cabbage white eggs or caterpillars can be removed in the home garden by wiping them regularly so that the caterpillars of the butterfly do not eat a large part of the leaf surface in a short time. The cabbage fly lays its eggs on the root neck of young plants in summer. The maggots feed on the roots and lead to wilting or even death of the whole plant. Eggs can be prevented from being laid with a cardboard collar around the root neck. Growing under fine-mesh vegetable protection nets is beneficial for repelling pests. Carboniferous hernia , a plant disease caused by a single cell, leads to thickening and deformation of the root. This leads to lower water absorption, wilting and can lead to the death of the plant. Infested plants must be destroyed, not composted. Since the fungal spores survive for a long time in plant remains and in the soil, the cultivation of cabbage species in the affected area should be avoided for seven to ten years. Weeds such as shepherds' purse must also be removed. Discoloration of the flowers of white varieties such as yellow or brown spots on the inflorescence are caused by exposure to sunlight, as pressure points or improper storage after harvest and reduce the quality.
use
Cauliflower can be eaten raw or cooked. It is easy to digest, has a mild taste and is rich in vitamin C and minerals . To prepare it, the leaves are removed, the stalk is cut and cut, and the cabbage is cooked in salted water for around 20 minutes or roasted in florets (e.g. in the oven) or stewed for 10 to 15 minutes. Add a little milk or lemon juice to keep it white. The leaves can be boiled and chopped up in a blender to make a cream soup . Romanesco retains its fresh green color by briefly quenching it in ice water.
It is served classically with melted butter , with Dutch sauce or béchamel sauce , the Polish way with breadcrumbs roasted in butter (known in Bavaria and Austria as "cauliflower with crumbs") or baked with cheese . It is also suitable for being fried in fat in a batter; also breading and frying are possible preparation methods.
literature
- Udelgard Körber-Grohne: Useful Plants in Germany - From Prehistory to Today. Nikol, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-933203-40-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Körber-Grohne, p. 181.
- ↑ a b Crops> Cauliflowers and broccoli. In: FAO production statistics for 2018. fao.org, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Do you fancy flowers? Then get to the cauliflower! In: bauernzeitung.ch. May 18, 2019, accessed May 19, 2019 .
- ↑ Lee B. Smith, Graham J. King: The distribution of BoCAL-a alleles in Brassica oleracea is consistent with a genetic model for curd development and domestication of the cauliflower . In: Molecular Breeding . tape 6 , no. 6 , 2000, pp. 603-613 , doi : 10.1023 / A: 1011370525688 .
- ^ John Bowman: Arabidopsis. An Atlas of Morphology and Development . Springer Verlag, New York / Barcelona 1994, ISBN 0-387-94089-8 , pp. 204-205 .
- ^ Romanesco: The mathematical cauliflower, in: Agricultural Information Service No. 2980 of July 30, 2010
- ↑ Roger Müller: Swiss vegetables from genetic laboratories: the consumer has no choice. In: srf.ch . September 2, 2014, accessed March 17, 2019 .
- ↑ E. Niller: The large and the small vegetable garden. Natural cultivation of vegetables, herbs and mushrooms. Weihenstephan experiences. Berlin / Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-489-63224-9 .
- ↑ a b Josef Schlaghecken: Kohlhernie. (PDF) A serious root disease in cabbages, radishes and radishes. Service Center for Rural Areas, November 6, 2004, accessed on February 27, 2016 .