Romanesco broccoli

For the dialect of Italian, see Romanesco.

Romanesco
Romanesco broccoli, showing self-similar form
Details
Species	Brassica oleracea
Cultivar group	Botrytis cultivar group

Romanesco broccoli, or Roman cauliflower, is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea, and a variant form of cauliflower.

History

Romanesco broccoli was first documented in Italy (as broccolo romanesco) in the sixteenth century^{[citation needed]}. It is sometimes called broccoflower, but that name is also applied to green-curded cauliflower cultivars.

Description

Romanesco broccoli resembles a cauliflower, but is of a light green color and the inflorescence (the bud) has an approximate self-similar character, with the branched meristems making a logarithmic spiral. In this sense the broccoli's shape approximates a natural fractal; each bud is composed of a series of smaller buds, all arranged in yet another logarithmic spiral. This self-similar pattern continues at several smaller levels.

The vegetable is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber, and carotenoids.

Cooking

Although in Italy there are a number of recipes dedicated to Romanesco broccoli, in the rest of the world it is usually prepared like conventional broccoli. Like conventional broccoli, overcooking Romanesco will result in a texture some people find unpleasant. The texture is more tender than cauliflower, making it suited to raw use as crudités. Romanesco broccoli has a milder flavor, more creamy and nutty, and less bitter, than conventional broccoli and cauliflower.

Fractal pattern

The head of Romanesco broccoli is a visually striking example of an approximate fractal in nature. The pattern is only an approximate fractal since the pattern eventually terminates when the feature size becomes sufficiently small. In computer graphics, its pattern has been modeled as a recursive helical arrangement of cones.

Fibonacci series

The number of spirals on the head of Romanesco broccoli is a Fibonacci number.

External links

• Cultivar identification within broccoli
• Fractal Food: Self-Similarity on the Supermarket Shelf