Broccoli is a member of the brassica family, like cabbage.
The plant produces green flower heads on thick stalks. They are picked and eaten before the flowers bloom.
There can be confusion between these different types of Broccoli so let us try to help.
Purple Sprouting Brocolli, or PSB as it’s commonly known, has individual stalks for each flower clump. It’s on the left in the picture, and is in season from December into May.
Tenderstem® Brocolli (in the middle in the picture) has its origins in Japan where it was developed using classical plant breeding techniques. The idea was to breed a more flavoursome Brassica by crossing Broccoli and Chinese Kale.
We’re told that British crops of this veggie are mostly grown in Kent and Jersey, and that it has a mild, distinctive flavour and a texture more akin to asparagus than traditional broccoli. The Tenderstem® season runs from June to the end of December.
Calabrese is the large headed variety that most of us call Broccoli. In the picture, Calabrese is on the right. The Calabrese season is June through to the end of November.
Here are our favourite recipes for each type of Brocolli:
PSB:
Sprouting Broccoli with Toasted Seasame Seeds
Spicy Purple Sprouting Broccoli Pasta
Cracked Bulgar Wheat With Broccoli & Cream Cheese Sauce
Sicilian Vegetable Soup with PSB
Tenderstem:
Barbecued Tenderstem with Goats Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
Jo Pratt’s Thai Pumpkin and Tenderstem® Red Curry
Calabrese:
Brocolli and Kale Stir Fry
Brocolli and Peanut Butter Soup
Pasta with Spinach and Brocolli Sauce
Categories: food, seasonal eating, vegetarian
