Our family loves cauliflower but it isn’t a kid favorite in many households. However, I believe the benefits of cauliflower in your family’s diet make it worth familiarizing yourself with it and learning how to use it, especially since there are certain times of year that cauliflower is one of the more affordable produce options.
What Is Cauliflower?
Cauliflower is one of the most consumed cruciferous (also can be grouped in the brassica family) vegetables in the world with a high amount of fiber and Vitamin C. 1 cup cooked cauliflower has approximately 70% of your daily Vitamin C but it also has other great vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin K that make it a valuable source of nutrients.
It looks similar to broccoli but is white rather than green. A head (or curd) of cauliflower is made up of tightly packed undeveloped flower buds so it won’t have the loose flowery look that broccoli has. When you compare the weight you will find that cauliflower is more compact and has a heavier weight than the same size broccoli.
How to Choose Cauliflower
Cauliflower is found in the produce department, usually in the cooler near broccoli. Look for a firm creamy white head without dark spots or a wilted look. Sometimes you will find a head of cauliflower with green leaves surrounding it. I often find these to be the nicest heads as the leaves help protect it, but take a peek under the leaves if possible to ensure it is fresh and blemish-free.
How to Use Cauliflower
One way to get cauliflower into your family’s diet without it languishing in the produce drawer or never making it on your grocery list, is to introduce it in other products. Adding cauliflower to mashed potatoes, soups, rice, and macaroni and cheese are great ways to slowly introduce the taste of this vegetable to your family’s diet.
If you do find your cauliflower has some brown or black spots before you use it, just trim them off. Occasionally, my cauliflower ends up in the back of the refrigerator and gets a little wilted and sad. I usually turn it into soup or add it to a casserole of some sort at that point so it isn’t wasted.
How to Prepare Cauliflower for Use
- Rinse the cauliflower well. If using organic cauliflower I put it in a bowl of salt water to chase any creepy crawlies out.
- Trim off any leaves
- Cut the florets off by the stem
- Cut the florets down to desired size
Cooking Preparations for Cauliflower
You can eat cauliflower raw or cook it. One of the most common preparation methods is boiling but it isn’t recommended that you boil it long as it loses its phytonutrients after extended amounts of boil time. We prefer to eat cauliflower raw, grilled, or roasted, but I will boil it if I am making our favorite cauliflower soup.
- Boil
- Steam
- Sauté
- Grill
- Roast
Most people eat the cauliflower florets (the flowery ends) but the stem is excellent also. I freeze chopped stems to add to soups as this stretches the grocery budget and minimizes food waste. I also find that the stalk can be a little tougher and cooking it in soup softens it nicely.
How to Preserve Cauliflower
Cauliflower has certain windows of time where it is expensive and harder to get and others where a larger supply pushes the price down, making it one of the most affordable produce options. I usually find the inexpensive windows to be early summer and autumn here in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic with the price around $1.99-$2.49 per head.
A head of cauliflower usually makes a full batch of soup or several portions of side vegetable in our household. To help stretch our tight food budget I buy a large amount of cauliflower when it is at low market prices and preserve it for the times when it isn’t so affordable, especially to have on hand in winter when produce doesn’t grow in our area. My favorite way to preserve it is to freeze it.
Freezing Cauliflower
It is so easy to freeze cauliflower. First I wash it, then blanch it, and finally, freeze it in 2-3 inch sized florets – think of the size they are when you buy a bag of frozen cauliflower. Since I have a food scale I flash freeze them as noted below then package them in 1 or 2 pound bags.
Blanching Cauliflower
You can blanch cauliflower just like you do most other vegetables.
- Bring stock pot of water to a boil.
- Prepare a bowl of ice water (to stop the cooking process and cool the cauliflower after blanching).
- Add cauliflower to boiling water.
- Blanch for 3 minutes.
- Remove cauliflower from water and give a quick ice bath.
- Drain then package and freeze.
TIP: Flash Freezing: If you want your cauliflower to freeze in individual florets, spread them out on a cookie sheet that’s been covered in parchment, waxed, or freezer paper. Put in freezer for 1 hour then package as you wish for freezing.
Steam Blanching Cauliflower
You can also steam blanch cauliflower.
- Put 2-3 inches of water in bottom of a pan and fit a fine sieve, steamer basket, or mesh colander over the top of it.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Prepare a bowl of ice water (to stop the cooking process and cool the cauliflower after blanching).
- Put cauliflower in colander/steamer basket.
- Steam cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove cauliflower from water and give a quick ice bath.
- Drain then package and freeze. (You can also flash freeze per the tip above.)
TIP 2: I use my salad spinner to get excess water off my produce after blanching and before freezing.
Canning Cauliflower
Cauliflower has a low acid level so it isn’t approved for water bath canning unless you are making pickled products like pickled cauliflower. I don’t play with canning recipes too much since I’m not an expert at pH balances and don’t want to risk killing anyone but I have several go-to resources any time I can – Fresh Preserving and Food in Jars. I have a pressure canner but it needs a few pieces replaced (it’s the canner we used when I was a kid) so I only use recipes that can be water bath canned. See everything I use to waterbath can and steps that show just how easy it is. Here is a recipe for pickled cauliflower you may want to try.
Cauliflower Recipes
Roasted Cauliflower Soup (Needs an update with pictures!)
Cheesy Cauliflower Pasta Alfredo
One Comment