Broccoli should be stored, unwashed, loosely wrapped in plastic or a perforated bag, and in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Broccoli is in the Brassica family, along with cauliflower and cabbage. This green vegetable often looks like a tree when you find it in the grocery store, but in the field (and in our boxes) it sports collard greens like leaves that are also edible. We grow broccoli in the spring, summer and fall, starting some of our plants out in the greenhouse, but planting the later crops directly into the soil in our fields.
Broccoli should be washed prior to use. It can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed, roasted, or sautéed. Recent studies show that steamed broccoli is the best way to cook it in order to retain the most nutritional value.
The edible leaves have a more mild broccoli flavor than the stems and florets. You can use these leaves similar to how you would use kale or collards, as a cooking green, in smoothies, in salads, or roasted into chips!
Health & Nutrition: While oranges are the most common thing that come to mind when looking for Vitamin C, half a cup of broccoli contains 84% of the daily recommendation for this vitamin. It is also loaded with fiber, antioxidants, Vitamin K, iron and potassium.
Additional Fun Facts: The word broccoli comes from an Italian word that means “the flowering crest of cabbage.”
