Ten Amazing Facts About Broccoli You Won’t Believe Are Real

Ten Amazing Facts About Broccoli You Won’t Believe Are Real
Ten Amazing Facts About Broccoli You Won’t Believe Are Real

This tasty little plant in the cabbage family is often overlooked and seen simply as the addition to other vegetables rather than a good vegetable in its own right. But today I will put Broccoli into the limelight and showcase just a small selection of the amazing facts this edible green plant has up its crest…

 


 

FACT 1: Broccoli is Very Nutritious!

Not only is Broccoli a great source of vitamins K and C (which most people know about), but it is also a good source of folate (folic acid), potassium and fibre!

FACT 2: China and India Produce Over 70% of the Worlds Broccoli

Not only is Broccoli a great source of vitamins K and C (which most people know about), but it is also a good source of folate (folic acid), potassium and fibre! As of last year, China produced 10,263,746 tonnes of Broccoli while India produced 8,199,000 tonnes of Broccoli! It makes you wonder who is eating that much!

FACT 3: Broccoli Has Been Consumed Since the time of the Roman Empire!

It wasn’t until the 6th century BC that growing of this vegetable was recorded, but there are tales of people consuming it well before then.

FACT 4: It is Better To Eat Broccoli Raw!

It doesn’t matter if you steam it or grill it, the best way to get the most nutritional impact from Broccoli is to simply eat it raw. But it does have to be said the taste is often more bitter and you should also be aware that many people do struggle to digest them when eaten raw.



FACT 5: If it Wasn’t For Broccoli There World be no James Bond!

OK, so this fact is more a play on words rather than the vegetable itself but it is still interesting and Broccoli related. Anyway, Italian-American Writer, Mr Albert R. Broccoli is fully credited to bring almost all the 007 James Bond Films to life! It makes you wonder if Bond likes his Broccoli shaken or stirred?

FACT 6: Its Name Means “The Flowering Crest of a Cabbage”

The Italian plural or Broccoli really is “The Flowering Crest of a Cabbage” but its diminutive form of brocco means “sprout”! It makes you wonder where the name Sprout comes from!

FACT 7: Romanesco Broccoli Has The Greatest Fractal Shape of ALL PLANTS!

If you have ever seen lists featuring strange and unusual vegetables the chances are good that the Romanesco Broccoli is on that list. It features branched meristems making up a logarithmic spiral (whatever that means!)

FACT 8: Before 1920 Most Americans Never Knew What Broccoli Was!

While it was introduced to the United States by Southern Italian immigrants thousands of years before that it didn’t become widely popular until the 1920s.

FACT 9: Broccoli Is The Fasting Growing of All Vegetables

Growing 60–90 centimetres (24–35 inches) every year it is a vegetable that most people grow in their gardens and allotments because it only requires a small amount of space and minimal effort.

FACT 10: If You Leave Broccoli Unharvested They Will Flower!

It’s just the impressive long leathery leaves that make Broccoli worth growing, it also grows small yellow flowers with four petals on each flower. OK, so you might not get to see that in the local supermarket, but you could always grow it yourself at home.

Do you know anything more interesting about Broccoli? If you do why not leave a comment and let the world learn from your knowledge.

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