It comes from Cyprus, which is why it used to be called the Cypriot cabbage at first. It was known in the ancient Rome and Greece, from where it was spread to other countries. In Poland the cauliflower was begun to be grown at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The edible part are the young flower sprouts, tipped with inflorescence, so-called rose, with leaves covering the inflorescene, growing from its bottom.

Cauliflowers are ranked among the most valuable vegetables in view of their chemical composition, dietary and taste values. The vegetable contains among other things: sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, fluoride, chlorine, iodine, carotenes and vitamins: K, B1, B2, B6, C, as well as acids: nicotine and pantothenic. Cauliflower also contains essential oils, which makes it smell unpleasant when it is being cooked, with sulphur being released during the process.

Cauliflower contains sulphophrane, which stimulates anti-cancer enzymes. Other elements of cauliflower have a beneficial effect on the liver, stimulating its activity. Thanks to its components, cauliflower also protects the organism against rheumatism.

Cauliflower can be eaten cooked and raw. It is delicious in all forms, and ? what is more important ? it is healthy. Before cooking the cauliflower, we should put it in cold, salted water to get rid of the little snails which live on it.

The water in which the cauliflower is to be cooked should be salted and a few drops of lemon juice ought to be added to it, so that the cauliflower won?t get yellow. It shouldn?t be overcooked. A cauliflower of medium size needs to be cooked for about 15 minutes.
Cauliflower is usually served in the following dishes and forms:

• Cauliflower or vegetable soup
• Already cooked cauliflower is topped with crumbs browned on butter ? it can be eaten without any additives or with meat and potatoes,
• Raw cauliflower (the florettes) can be coated in bread crumbs like pork chops (i.e. first we salt it, then we powder it with flour, dip in egg and afterwards in crumbs and fry it on hot fat, braising it on all its sides and then we cover it with cold water and stew it under lid until it gets soft. The sauce can be seasoned with flour, cooked once again and served with potatoes and various additives),
• Cauliflower florettes, cooked or raw, can be added to salads.

Cauliflower is a very valuable vegetable because of its dietary qualities. This plant, rich in numerous nutrients, was supposedly brought to Poland by queen Bona Sforza.

Cauliflower contains many nutrients, such as: sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, fluoride, chlorine, iodine, carotenes and vitamins: K, B1, B2, B6, C, as well as acids: nicotine and pantothenic. Moreover, cauliflower is rich in sulphophrane, which stimulates anti-cancer enzymes. In order to avoid the unpleasant smell that cauliflower produces and to keep the nutrients as well as the vegetable?s tenderness, its cooking time should be minimized. Adding a bit of lemon juice will help to prevent the vegetable from decolouration.