A Few Tips For Cooking Cauliflower
Cooking cauliflower isn't all that difficult, but there are a few tips that can help ensure you'll end up with a tasty dish instead of a soggy mess. Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous family, along with cabbage, broccoli, kale, and a few other vegetables. It is an extremely healthy vegetable, and while cooked cauliflower sprinkled with salt and pepper and covered with a small amount of butter is delicious, there are many ways to prepare it.
Choosing A Cauliflower Head - No matter how you're planning on cooking cauliflower, your efforts may be in vain unless you choose fresh produce. A cauliflower that is ready to be cooked will have a very compact white head. The head is actually made up of a large number of closely packed white florets. If the florets have begun to separate or open up, the cauliflower will no longer be as tasty and will tend to fall apart when cooking. Look for a white head that has no discoloration, such as yellowish or brown spotting. There are types of cauliflower whose heads are other than white, and they are equally tasty, but white is the most common color on the market.
A Tip - Cauliflower can either be cooked whole, or small bunches of florets can be separated before cooking. A tip when cooking cauliflower whole - if the thick stalk is hollowed out, when cooked it will be quite tender and tasty. If it is not hollowed out, the core of the stock may be tough or chewy. Many people simply cut off the stalk and throw it away, but when prepared by hollowing it out, it is every bit as good as the rest of the vegetable.
Boiling - Cauliflower can be eaten raw as well as cooked, and often raw cauliflower is served as a part of a vegetable platter. Most people cook cauliflower by boiling it. Some boil it for a very long time, which isn't necessary, cooks away too many of the nutrients, and can leave one with a soggy and sometimes chewy dish. Like many other vegetables, when cooking cauliflower by boiling it, removing it from the water while it is still slightly crisp is best.
You don't have to limit yourself to boiled cauliflower however. There are a number of recipes available for baking cauliflower, as well as steaming it, micro waving it, and frying it, including stir fry.
Microwaving - It usually takes about 8 to 10 minutes to cook a fairly large head of cauliflower in the microwave, with the microwave set on high. The cauliflower head needs to be cooked on both sides, so the proper approach is to cook it one side for 4 minutes, let it rest for 3 minutes, then cook it on the other side, and let it rest again. If cooking cauliflower in the microwave for the first time, you might set the timer to between 2 and 3 minutes and check for crispness. You'll want the vegetable to still be slightly crisp when done.
Frying - When frying cauliflower, individual florets are coated in a batter made from milk, egg, and flour, placed in a pan coated with vegetable oil, and fried to a golden brown. The cauliflower can be served as is, or with a dip.
Steaming - If you plan on steaming cauliflower, it is easiest to steam individual floret bunches than attempting to steam the head in one piece. If you do chose to steam the whole head, it will usually take about 20 minutes. If the florets are broken apart and steamed, the cooking time will take about 10 minutes and maybe not more than 5.
No matter how you prepare cauliflower, whether it’s served cooked or raw, its nutritional value is impressive indeed. Like cabbage, broccoli, and other members of the cruciferous family, cauliflower is considered a great disease fighter. It is rich in vitamin C, an antioxidant, and folate, which is essential to healthy tissue growth.