I’ve been enjoying the fruits (and flowering heads, and leaves, and roots) of my labour for a few months now, but today I absolutely had to share my pride and joy, also known as this massive head of broccoli I harvested this morning. I’ve been obsessing over it for a while, particularly since I had almost given up on it producing a head at all. All of my other broccoli plants (which I grew from starts) were growing heads weeks before this one, which at first devoted all its energy to producing massive leaves (not sure why – perhaps because of how much shade it got). Such are the mysteries of the garden, I suppose.
While most of the plants that I feature on Farm and Forage cannot be found in the grocery store, broccoli is an exception. It is a cruciferous vegetable, related to cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and Brussel sprouts, which are all high in dietary fibre and phytonutrients. Arguably the most important substance they contain is glucoraphanin, which when physically damaged (i.e. chopped, smooshed, or chewed) is converted to sulforaphane. Sulforaphane, which, I’ll be honest here, can smell a little like a fart, has been widely studied for its anticarcinogenic properties – it has been found to both prevent and stop the growth of cancer cells. This action may largely be due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which may also contribute to its associations with relief from depression, pain, and hypertension, as well as detoxification and gut microbiota support.
Broccoli and broccoli sprouts in particular contain the highest concentration of glucoraphanin, and are also a great source of vitamin A, C, and K. To take advantage of these health benefits, it is best to wait for a few minutes between chopping and consuming your broccoli in order for the glucoraphanin conversion to take place. Steaming your broccoli for 3-4 minutes will also increase your sulforaphane absorption. It is best to use fresh broccoli for this as frozen broccoli has been blanched, which deactivates the enzyme required to produce sulforaphane.
