I just saw that the 1861 edition of Mrs. Beeton is online at:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/

And, cross-referencing the thread on vegetable colors, the good lady
mentions broccoli (purple and white).
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au.../chapter3.html
I had not known that broccoli came in any color other than green. Can
anyone comment on this?


Robin Carroll-Mann
"Mostly Harmless" -- Douglas Adams
To email me, remove the fish

Robin Carroll-Mann . nattered on
m:

I just saw that the 1861 edition of Mrs. Beeton is online at:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/

And, cross-referencing the thread on vegetable colors, the good lady
mentions broccoli (purple and white).
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au.../chapter3.html
I had not known that broccoli came in any color other than green. Can
anyone comment on this?

Could be a heirloom variety. Broccoli is a cabbage, after all, and kales
can be colored. I've seen purple broccoli.

[Mrs Beeton] mentions broccoli (purple and white). [...]
I had not known that broccoli came in any color other than green.
Can anyone comment on this?

Technically, the green stuff you usually see in supermarkets isn't
broccoli at all, but calabrese - the buds aren't generated from the
same anatomical structures. The older kinds of broccoli (quite often
purple) are spindlier and have more flavour.

We've grown purple broccoli here, and it makes a good garden crop,
since you can pick bits of it off the plant for months. That isn't
what a commercial grower would want to do, hence the oblivion the
plant has fallen into.

Unlike red cabbage, the purple colour vanishes quickly with cooking.
You have to treat it gently to keep it looking attractive.

Any recipe from before 1950 that called for "broccoli" would mean
the traditional variety - the adoption of calabrese is very recent.

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Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:

I just saw that the 1861 edition of Mrs. Beeton is online at:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/

And, cross-referencing the thread on vegetable colors, the good lady
mentions broccoli (purple and white).
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au.../chapter3.html
I had not known that broccoli came in any color other than green. Can
anyone comment on this?

Purple sprouting broccoli is quite common here in the UK. There are
several other colours too. My father used to grow some of the less
usual ones. Seeds are available from several merchants who specialize
on older varieties. The reason you don't often see them to buy in shops
is that the new fat green stuff is made more resistant to bugs and
produces a heavier crop, so is commercially a better bet than the older
but tastier varieties.

Pop into your local garden centre and see what they have available as
seeds. Here in the UK you can get the standard modern green stuff,
purple and yellow varieties, a white one, and some other variations on
the broccoli theme.

The Victorians used to grow some as decorative items, along with
brightly coloured decorative cabbages. These are making a come-back
here in the UK, particularly in municipal flower beds! Very odd they
look too, close up, but they make a hardy and cheerful splash of colour.
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:
I had not known that broccoli came in any color other than green. Can
anyone comment on this?

One cultivar which is purple is:
Species: Brassica oleracea (broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens, etc)
SubSpecies = botytris (broccoli)
Variety = Raab
Cultivar = Hun Tsai Tai

Someone else said that calabrese isn't broccoli. But calabrese is just another variety of botytris, and
all botytris is broccoli.

-Mike

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 03:16:23 GMT, Robin Carroll-Mann
. wrote:

I just saw that the 1861 edition of Mrs. Beeton is online at:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/

Thank you for the URL. I've bookmarked for leisurely viewing. Times
sure change...

Frogleg wrote:

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 03:16:23 GMT, Robin Carroll-Mann
. wrote:

I just saw that the 1861 edition of Mrs. Beeton is online at:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/

Thank you for the URL. I've bookmarked for leisurely viewing. Times
sure change...

I bought a facsimile copy of Mrs Beeton's first book. It really is
interesting and a window into the middle class of her time.

Thanks so much for posting the link! I can now read the missing pages of my
dear old Battered Beeton!!

"Robin Carroll-Mann" . wrote in message
...
I just saw that the 1861 edition of Mrs. Beeton is online at:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/