Cook and prepare cauliflower properly

When buying cauliflower, care should be taken to ensure that it is fresh. (Photo by: 5PH / Depositphotos)

Buy cauliflower: Make sure it is of good quality

1. Better with cauliflower heads when shopping with leaves grab because the green protects the “flower” and also indicates the freshness.
2. Are the leaves yet crisp green, the buds uncolored and the Juicy stalk, you hold a fresh head in your hands. If the cauliflower smells strongly of cabbage, it is too old.

Storage of cauliflower

Ideally, cauliflower should be prepared fresh, because these are not stored vegetables.

If an immediate preparation is not possible, the head can briefly stored cool in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, for example.

Before storing the Remove leaves, the Cut off the stalk smoothly and the cabbage protected from light, so keep in the dark.

Prepare cauliflower

Cauliflower can be cut into florets and prepared, but it can also be cooked whole. (Photo by: BravissimoS / Depositphotos)

Before the actual preparation, clean the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves, cut off the thick stem, divide the cauliflower into florets and wash well.

Boil cauliflower

Bring salted water to the boil in a saucepan, then add the prepared florets and cook in the boiling salted water for about 10-15 minutes. It is best to check the firmness in between, the cauliflower should not be cooked too soft.

Then drain through a sieve and serve.

Tip: A flake of butter in the cooking water enhances the aroma. A teaspoon of sugar in the cooking water ensures a well-rounded aroma.

How does the cauliflower stay nice and white when cooked?

Simply add a splash of lemon and a dash of milk to the cooking water. This is how the cauliflower keeps its white color. In addition, the lemon juice prevents the cabbage smell from spreading in the kitchen.

Steam the cauliflower

With this gentle preparation method, most of the nutrients are retained.

1. To do this, first clean the cabbage as described above, divide it into florets and wash it.
2. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the cauliflower florets, fry for a minute and then add a little water. The florets should be half covered with the water.
3. Cover and let the cauliflower simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Bake cauliflower

To do this, preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease a baking sheet.

Prepare the cauliflower, then mix the florets in a bowl with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and distribute them on the greased baking sheet.

Now roast the cauliflower until golden brown for about 20 minutes.

Fry cauliflower

To do this, divide the cleaned cauliflower into very small florets, then heat a little vegetable oil or butter in a non-stick pan and fry the cauliflower in it for about 10 minutes.

Blanching cauliflower: how long do you blanch cauliflower?

Clean the cauliflower, pluck florets and wash.

Then bring enough water to the boil in a large saucepan and cover the cauliflower florets and cook for 3 minutes.

Then put the cauliflower in a bowl with cold ice water, allow to cool, lift out and drain.

Cook the cauliflower whole

If the head is to be cooked whole, place the cauliflower upside down in cold salted water for 10 minutes. Then cut the stalk crosswise to ensure that it is cooked at the same time as the florets.

Season the cauliflower

The following spices, among others, can be used to season and refine cauliflower:

• Mustard seeds
• nutmeg
• turmeric
• curry
• Cayenne pepper

Serving suggestions of cauliflower

Baked cauliflower is a healthy accompaniment to meat dishes. (Photo by: apolonia / Depositphotos)

It is usually served with melted butter or breadcrumbs browned in butter, and hollandaise sauce is also very popular.

If you like, you can bake it briefly in the oven with cheese after cooking.

Cauliflower goes well with vegetarian dishes, but also as an accompaniment to fish, meat, poultry or egg dishes.

Our recipe tips:

Can you eat the green from the cauliflower?

The inner, fine green leaves of cauliflower can be prepared and eaten like spinach. The leaves can also be used to make a creamy soup or as an ingredient in smoothies.

Can you eat the cauliflower stalk?

The answer can be answered unequivocally with “Yes” – for example, a tasty one can be made from the rest of the stalk Fund be prepared for a cauliflower soup.

Furthermore, if the stalk is cut into small pieces, it can be prepared together with the cauliflower florets.

Another option is from the stalk puree to manufacture. Simply peel the stalk, cook until soft, puree finely and season.

Can you also eat cauliflower raw?

Cauliflower can also be eaten raw, for example as a salad. To do this, simply clean, cut into florets or cut into thin slices, wash and marinate with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Freezing cauliflower: this is the best way to freeze cauliflower

Incidentally, cauliflower can also be frozen well. Prepare the heads in the same way as for “normal” cooking, so it is best to cut them into florets, blanch, so briefly 3 minutes in boiling salted water and chill immediately cold, preferably in ice water.

Then drain well and place in an airtight freezer container / bag and freeze immediately (the freezer compartment is best for this). This is how the taste, vitamin content and natural color are best preserved and the cauliflower can last up to a year.

After thawing, the cooking time is reduced accordingly by about 5 minutes.

Can you freeze cauliflower without blanching?

Cauliflower can also be frozen raw, but blanching is recommended. Fewer nutrients are lost when it is frozen than when it is frozen raw.