Cauliflower Days

Cauliflower Head, 24th September 2013

 

I pulled the first of the cauliflowers yesterday, a fine specimen with a tight creamy white curd. It was almost twelve inches in diameter so quite a lot of eating. Somewhat surprisingly cauliflower freezes well and they will also keep for several weeks if hung upside down in an airy, cool environment, provided you spray the protective leaves with water.

 

The portion of the cauliflower allocated for consumption last night was given a coating of cheese sauce. This proved to be a satisfactory accompaniment.

 

As well as the traditional cream coloured heads there are various hybrid cauliflowers with purple, lime green and even orange curds. Personally I would not be a fan of these ,"exotics." My experience is that they are more difficult to grow and produce smaller heads. There is also the fact that the colour fades during steaming even with the assistance of lemon juice.