Key information

Colour: Creamy white, although you can find yellow, green and purple varieties.

In season: All year

Power to perform: Vitamin C helps keep cells healthy and boosts your immune system to help fight infections. Since humans can’t store vitamin C in our bodies, we need to eat vitamin C-rich foods, like cauliflower, every day to get what we need. 

Grow me: There are so many varieties of cauliflower available that you can find it in the supermarket almost year-round. These plants like cool, damp conditions (perfect for UK weather!). For best results, they should be grown indoors for the first six weeks, before being planted outside. Always keep the soil damp for steady growth.

Did you know?

• The cauliflower is from the same family of plants (Brassica Oleracea) as kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and several other vegetables. 
• Romanesco cauliflower is a striking lime-green colour, with characteristic pointed florets. 
• The world’s heaviest cauliflower was grown in England in 2014, weighing in at an incredible 27.48 kilograms. It was grown by the same gardener who also holds the Guiness World Records for the heaviest potato, longest leek and longest runner bean, amongst others! 

Ideas garden

Remember to ask an adult's permission before experimenting with any cauliflower ideas!

Get creative

We know cauliflowers look great with their bright green leaves and contrasting white (or colourful) heads (or ‘curds’), but do they taste great, too?  

Experiment with three different ways of cooking this nutrient-rich vegetable to find your favourite cauliflower flavour!  

For this taste test, you’ll boil, roast and ‘rice’ your cauliflower. First, wash and dry your cauliflower, then cut it into three equal portions – one portion for each cooking method.   

• Boiling: Cut one portion into small florets of similar size. Boil water in a pan. Once the water is bubbling, add your florets and boil for around five minutes or until your florets are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside to cool. 
• Roasting: Cut another portion into small florets of similar size. Heat your oven to gas mark 5/200ºC. Add your florets to an over-proof tray and lightly drizzle them with olive oil with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 15–20 minutes. Take the cauliflower out of the oven and set aside to cool. 
• Rice: Cut the third portion into large chunks. Use a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower into ‘rice’, small pieces the same size as rice grains. (Take care with your fingers against the grater – don't grate too small a piece!) You can eat cauliflower rice raw or heat through in a frying pan for roughly five minutes. 

Let the taste test begin! Try each cauliflower sample and write down your observations (taste, smell, texture, etc). Which is your favourite cooking technique and why? Compare your findings with others. Is there a clear winner?  

Go further: Experiment with other techniques, for example sauté in a frying pan, blitz some cauliflower mash or grill a cauliflower ‘steak’! Try different spices with your roasted or rice cauliflower – how about some cumin, or tandoori spices?  

Get cooking

Cauliflower is a versatile vegetable, lending its unique flavour to dishes around the world. Build on your taste test and keep it classic with cauliflower cheese as a side dish, or make it the main event in a Sri Lankan-style veg curry.  
 
Bold flavours work so well with cauliflower so why not add some heat with a sticky cauliflower and peanut salad or roast it whole with spices? 

Ask an adult to share your cauliflower adventures with us on social media using #GetSetEatFresh or by uploading a showcase on the Get Set to Eat Fresh community page.