Know Your Foods: Broccoli

One American president hated it. In fact many kids (and others) politely push these vibrant green vegetables to one side of the plate. And leave them there!

Broccoli is yet another member of the large brassica family. Its name means 'flowering part of the cabbage' and it has evolved from wild cabbage over the past 2000 years.

President George Bush, senior, may have spurned it, but Catherine de Medici loved it and brought it with her to France from Italy in the mid-l6th century. It is said to have originated in Calabria, way down south in the 'toe' of Italy, and the most common form of broccoli is still sometimes called calabrese.

brocolli Broccoli is an important source of vitamins (A, C, E and folate) fibre, calcium and iron. Prolonged cooking may destroy its vitamin C so broccoli is best used raw, blanched (tossed into boiling water for a minute or two, then drained) or stir-fried quickly. Choose heads that are firm and solid green with no yellow patches. Why is this vegetable (along with other members of the cabbage family) believed to help prevent cancer and other serious diseases?

One cup daily supplies more than your daily requirement of two of the antioxidants, vitamin C and beta carotene, both of which play a major role in combating heart disease.

If you are not in the habit of using broccoli try it first cut very thinly or in small florets (little flower-heads) either raw or blanched and added into salads, quiches, vegetable pies, soups, stirfries, fried rice or omelettes. Weight-watchers could add it to their carrot and celery stick baskets to nibble on between meals as it has a very low 45kJ per 60g.

* Diet Data: Vitamin A, E and C, folate, fibre, calcium, iron, 75kJ per 100g.

* Shopping Tips: All year, best in spring. Look for dense green heads.

* Storage: Refrigerate in crisper up to 3 days.

Meet the BRASSICA family: broccoli, brussels sprouts, canola (rape), cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, mustard cress, radish, swede, turnip, mustard, horseradish.

Brassica is a botanical family-name referring plants belonging to a certain genus native to the Mediterranean region and part of the family Cruciferae. Brassica means cabbage in Latin, and cruciferous refers to the peculiarly cross-shaped, four-petalled flowers common to the Cruciferae family.

Apart from their rather strong flavour, which is unfortunately a turn-off to those who love vegetables less than is good for them, they all contain anti-oxidants, now becoming known for their usefulness to the body as cancer-fighters. These vegetables in particular are thought to inhibit the establishment of cancers in the bowel.

While some members of your family may not enjoy cauliflower, for instance, there are so many members of the brassica group, and so many ways to prepare them, that it would be difficult to leave them out of a normal well-balanced diet entirely. The trick is to attempt to let them star a little more on the menu. Good luck!