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Thursday 13 June 2013

Broccoli

Broccoli is man made. It was derived from cultivated leafy cole crops in the Northern Mediterranean in about the 6th century BC.

You can’t find broccoli in the wild since it was created by humans.

The word ‘broccoli’ is the plural of ‘broccolo’ which is Italian for the flowering top of a cabbage. ‘Broccolo’ is a diminutive of ‘brocco’ meaning a shoot or stalk.

Drusus Caesar, son of the Roman emperor Tiberius, so loved broccoli that he ate little else for more than a month. He only stopped when his urine turned green.

Broccoli was first introduced into France during the royal marriage of Catherine de Medici to Henry II of France.

Broccoli was brought to Britain from Antwerp in the 1720s by sculptor Peter Scheemakers.

In 1724, Philip Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary referred to broccoli as “Italian asparagus”.

Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants in home gardens in Brooklyn, New York.


Cubby Broccoli, the producer behind the successful James Bond films was born on April 5, 1909, He was raised on the family vegetable farm and claims his uncle brought the first broccoli seeds to the US in 1870.

In 1923, a group of Italian vegetable farmers in Northern California started to grow broccoli commercially and in a few years they were shipping fresh broccoli to Boston and New York.

President George H. W. Bush banned broccoli from the White House and Air Force One in 1990. "My mother made me eat it," he said.

Broccoli in the movie Inside Out was changed to bell peppers in the Japan version because they are more universally hated by Japanese children.

McDonalds once came up with bubblegum flavoured broccoli, in an attempt to get kids to eat healthier. It was never introduced as children found the flavor confusing.

Canned broccoli doesn't exist. The reason for this is because broccoli, unlike most other vegetables, disintegrates into a pulp when cooked for periods of time above 200°F, and water boils at 212°F. The canning process cooks food once before and once after its canned. Broccoli would turn to mush.

Young broccoli florets are rich in glucoraphanin, a chemical thought to slow and prevent arthritis. Boiling broccoli (rather than steaming, stir frying etc) reduces its amount of nutritious compounds over time.

The phenolic compounds in broccoli are linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, asthma and many types of cancer.


Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are flowers.

Broccoli contains twice as much vitamin C as an orange.

One-third pound stalk of broccoli contains more vitamin C than 204 apples.

Per calorie, broccoli has more protein than beef.

We are eating 900% more broccoli today than we were 20 years ago.

Over 22 million tons of broccoli is produced worldwide every year.

Source Daily Express

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