broccoli

Boil the stalks on their own or with an onion or a potato or two, strain the liquid and freeze it to use as stock when next you make soup.

You can do the same with cauliflower stalks and outer leaves, and of course with the outer coarse leaves of leeks and the tops of them.

I think the real problem is that we now mainly buy calabrese 🥦 instead of broccoli. It's presumably worth more per acre and less time-consuming to harvest.

The problem with calabrese is that it does take quite a long time to peel and always has chunky stems.🙁
But given that, once peeled we do cook and eat the stalks too... I'm another who has always done this.

My parents probably never had calabrese, so no role models to follow about the stalks in my household!

Give me some proper broccoli though, any day - especially the purple sprouting variety.
Yum!

Another 'stalker' here! Delish.

I read the other day that you need to chop broccoli up and let it rest for a while before cooking it. Which doesn’t apply to me because I only buy frozen.

MayBee70

I read the other day that you need to chop broccoli up and let it rest for a while before cooking it. Which doesn’t apply to me because I only buy frozen.

What on earth would you need to do that for?

I admit to not often using the stalks. I just snap the florets off and steam them. Very nice if not overcooked.

Is this weird recommendation for calabrese or is it for sprouting broccoli?

“As you may know, I am doing an online course on epigenetics at Stanford this winter.

Just learnt a fascinating tip on cooking, and the science behind it, that I must share with everyone.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale contain an excellent nutrient called sulforaphane which helps fight against toxins, inflammation, DNA damage, free radicals and other nasties in your body through the remarkable field of epigenetics, the switches on top of your genes that can turn bad genes off and good genes on. This boosts our defenses against aging, neurodegenerative disease and cancer.

Sulforaphane is a nutrigenomic modulator, which modulates the activity of enzymes involved in gene expression. It turns on our detox enzymes, found in both the liver and the lungs. A study in China, where there is terrible air pollution from benzene, showed that people eating one cup of broccoli sprouts per day got rid of 60% more benzene from their bodies.”
This is from Reddit but I first read it on instagram because I keep getting info re vitamin/mineral absorption since I’ve been taking iron tablets. And how important it is to take supplements at different times of day etc or on full or empty stomachs.

I love to roast broccoli florets and slice the stalks to roast as well, have to cover the broccoli to start with then uncover when tender and add a knob of butter.
Could eat it on its own.

We’ve always eaten the stalk and never peeled it.

I'm a stalk eater too. It doesn't matter if it's a thick stalk. I just peel the outer, knobly part then slice thinly.
My husband didn't eat the stalk when we were first married....I re-educated him.

I slice the stalks thinly and cook before the broccoli heads. Having frozen broccoli solves the problem.

Love broccoli, stalks and all 😋

Maybee I was beginning to think I was the only one who bought frozen broccoli. I dine on that, kale and celery, the kale for my eye health but I love it stir fried.

Anyone else peel the stalks, slice lengthways into long rectangles, steam and eat with butter and salt like asparagus? Yummy!

I have always used the stalks, though I do agree that the ratio of head to stalk is rather measly sometimes.

ninathenana

I've never tried the stalks, I thought they would be stringy and chewy

Not at all. Remind me of asparagus.

I often peel the stalks, chop and add them to a vegetable soup.

fat stalks, peeled, through the mandolin, wafer thin, or sliced thinly, eaten raw as a starter, taste just like water chestnuts - delicious

Stocks cleaned and steamed.

Cooked potatoes and onion, spices, coconut milk.

Potato soup.

That is appalling OP! If I understand you correctly.
Who do you think is paying for the stalks you have broken off and abandoned before weighing and paying?

It’s downright dishonest.

I always cook the stalks, without peeling first. Love broccoli and cheese soup too.

SueDoku

Another one who's been educated by this thread I'm 67, and DM always discarded the stalks and leaves of cauliflower ('It's supposed to be white, not green!') and mushroom stalks ('Do you realise what these are grown in?') and so I've always done the same...! Still not sure about the mushrooms, but I'm going to give broccoli stalks a go

I always use the cauliflower leaves, as long as they’re reasonably fresh.

kittylester

We eat the stalks - especially of tenderstem! I love the stalks.

I prefer the stalks to the flowery bits.

Nowadays I usually buy broccoli and cauliflower frozen just because it’s quick and easy when cooking for one. This thread has reminded me that I should buy them raw then chop and freeze.

I cook the stalks for 20 minutes and then add the broccoli heads for 5 minutes.

The OP, ninathenana hasn't posted on GN for a long time and has probably lost interest in broccoli 🥦

Scooter58

Another stalk eater here,bugbear of mine is "trimmed leeks" the green bit is every bit as good as the white,why they cut it off is a mystery to me.

Ditto cauliflowers with nearly all the leaves removed, I always try to find one with plenty of leaves, which will be cooked with the ‘flowers’.