LURKS IN PERKS
Broccoli was the vegie on everyone’s lips last week as, according to the latest research from the CSIRO, green lattes could be the next big thing. Despite all the good news about vegetables, the average Australian diet remains poor with many of us not eating the recommended daily intake of vegetables. So the CSIRO, Hort Innovation (the marketing and research body for the horticulture industry in Australia) and broccoli growers have a fiendish plan. It comes green and powdered.
Using “ugly” unsaleable broccoli heads deemed too large or misshapen to sell to Australian consumers, researchers have developed a way to reduce fresh broccoli to a powder that retains the colour and nutrients of the fresh vegie. Indeed, two tablespoons of the nutritious new powder equates to around one serve of broccoli and, according to lead researcher Mary Ann Augustin, it is high in protein, fibre and health-promoting bioactive phytochemicals.
Powder can be added surreptitiously to just about any food and could be a way to add the nutrition of extra vegetables to meals or to that next cup of coffee. Green lattes created at a cafe in Melbourne with the addition of the new broccoli powder were received with mixed reviews. One customer said their favourite brew tasted like green tea.
Hort Innovation chief executive John Lloyd agrees green lattes may not be everyone’s cuppa but suggests spooning the green powder into smoothies, soups and bakes would get fussy kids eating their greens. The powder is also being added to extruded snacks to create products with 20-100 per cent vegetable content.
GROW YOUR OWN
Another less technologically advanced method to increase vegetable consumption is to involve kids in growing their own greens. Not only does growing and harvesting produce from the backyard or school garden help kids to better enjoy vegetables it is also giving them a life skill – gardening.
Winter is a good time to grow lots of green vegetables including broccoli. It is not just easier to grow than some other members of the brassica family – notably cauliflower and brussels sprouts – broccoli is also quicker to crop. Expect to harvest the first head 12 to 16 weeks after planting.
For large heads that produce well over winter choose Winter Harvest, which is a variety that thrives in cold months. The early heads can be 20cm in diameter – enough to feed the entire family. Side shoots appear after the main heads are picked. Extend the harvest by planting Summer Green, which tolerates warmer conditions.
For a long harvest also look for one of the sprouting varieties, which can be harvested over many weeks. Even varieties grown for their large main head produce side shoots that extend cropping over many weeks. Purple Sprouting broccoli, which has purple-tinged stems and leaves, offers a colourful option in the garden. Broccolini is a form of broccoli grown for its long thin stems. It’s a hybrid between broccoli and gai lan (also called Chinese kale) and is popular in Asian cookery.
GETTING STARTED
For cropping over winter, start with seedlings, which are available at your garden centre. Give the plants plenty of room to grow by spacing the seedlings 40-60cm apart. Water weekly with a liquid plant food and patrol the plants regularly looking for small green caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly. Indeed, as soon as any little white butterflies are noticed flitting around the garden, cover broccoli plants with exclusion net to keep the butterflies from laying eggs on the plants. Spread the net over stakes or bent tubing to keep it above the foliage. Squash any caterpillars that make it to the plants.