Eat the colors of the rainbow we’re told – green, blue, red, yellow, purple.  This time, though, look for just the opposite, the color white as in the color of cauliflower.

Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables which is a category of plants named for their cross-shaped leaves.  Cauliflower is often overshadowed by more colorful and prominent members of the cruciferous family – broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, bok choy, turnips, and rutabagas.

Back in the day though of American author and humorist, Mark Twain, he once gave a quote regarding this cruciferous vegetable saying “cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”

Twain was basically extolling the virtues of a college degree in his Victorian era and at that time, cauliflower was the most expensive and glamorous of vegetables a family could have on their dinner table.  It was considered the queen of vegetables, usually steamed whole and elaborately garnished.

Nowadays, cauliflower is more reasonably priced and commonly found year round in grocery stores.  But if you’re going to compare it to a college degree, let’s see what cauliflower’s nutritional resume has to offer.

Cauliflower’s lack of color has often given the impression that it lacks nutrients.  Not so.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.  One cup of cooked cauliflower contains 77 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C along with a good source of vitamin K, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and manganese – pretty impressive for such a pale-looking veggie. 

One of the unique features found in members of the cruciferous family is sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates.  These same sulfur-containing compounds give off that familiar pungent smell when cooked. 

One of the main compounds found in cauliflower is sulforaphane, giving it a bitter taste but that bitter bite gives it the ability to fight off cancer cells. Sulforaphane has been found to inhibit the enzyme histone deacetylase (HDAC), known to progress cancer cells.  Bascially, glucosinolates like sulforaphane appears to enhance the elimination of carcinogens before they can do damage to DNA. 

Besides reducing the possibility of cancer, sulforaphane has also been found to siginificantly improve blood pressure and kidney function. 

Cauliflower also contains choline, a B vitamin known for its importance in brain development that may boost cognitive function, and improve learning and memory.  It may even reduce age-related memory decline as a person ages.

Who would have guessed cauliflower could be such a nutrition powerhouse?  But with the outstanding nutritional resume it’s been bestowed with, it’s easy to see why. 

Think cauliflower can only be cooked steamed?  Think again.  This vegetable’s versatility is beyond belief.  Many people may turn up their nose at the thought of eating cauliflower but this veggie has an amazing ability to go incognito in just about whatever you can dream up.  It can be added to pasta, soup, meatballs, pizza crusts, smoothies, desserts, roasted to a popcorn crunch, mashed like mashed potatoes, and used as a dip.  Make cauliflower a regular veggie at your dinner table and see what creative ideas you come up with to serve it.