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Cauliflower cheese

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British cauliflower cheese

Cauliflower cheese is a dish of boiled cauliflower covered in cheese sauce.[1]

In the UK, cauliflower cheese is often eaten as a side dish, particularly with roast dinners, and at times as a main to accommodate vegetarian diets. The cheese sauce often has cheddar as its base, though sometimes others including Stilton or Swiss are used, and in more elaborate preparations includes nutmeg and English mustard. Toppings—cheese, more rarely breadcrumbs—are often added as a final element before the dish is baked.[1]

Cauliflowers were introduced to England in the 17th century, and in Food Cultures of Great Britain this is taken as a likely origin for the dish.[1] A recipe for "cauliflower and cheese" appeared in the vegetarianism activist John Smith's 1860 book The Principles and Practice of Vegetarian Cookery. Smith advised serving his version with crispy pieces of bread known as sippets, and suggested replacing cheese with mushrooms or small, boiled onions.[2] A year later, Isabella Beeton included a recipe for "Cauliflowers with Parmesan Cheese" in her original, 1861 edition of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.[1]

Serving triangles of bread around cauliflower and cheese became fashionable in the 1950s. By the 2009 such practices were regarded as old-fashioned.[3] In the 1960s, as supermarkets began selling ready meals, cauliflower cheese was invoked by Elizabeth David as a symbol of good British cooking as she asked wistfully whether a day would come that "it's going to be clever to serve some relaxed English dish like cauliflower cheese".[4] Today, cauliflower cheese is popular as a flavor of pre-prepared baby food.[1]

Cauliflower cheese is a popular dish in Northern Italy, where it is eaten under the name cavolfiore al gratin.[5][a] As published by the Italian physician Amalia Moretti under the pseudonym Petronilla, cauliflower cheese may also be known in Italian as cavoifore alia besciamella.[6] In US. publications, cauliflower cheese is sometimes described as the English version of macaroni and cheese, based on the notion that the latter is American.[7][8]

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In southern Italy, the term cavolfiore is often used to refer to broccoli, at times producing confusion.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Williams, Victoria R (2024). Food Cultures of Great Britain: Cuisine, Customs, and Issues. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4408-7742-1.
  2. ^ Sitwell, William (2015). A History of Food in 100 Recipes. William Collins. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-00-741200-6.
  3. ^ Slater, Nigel (2009). Tender: A Cook and his Vegetable Patch. London: 10 Speed Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-60774-037-7.
  4. ^ Colquhoun, Kate (2007). Taste: the Story of Britain Through its Cooking. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 353. ISBN 978-1-5969-1410-0.
  5. ^ a b Del Conte, Anna (2018). Vegetables all'Italiana. London: Pavilion. pp. 22, 38. ISBN 978-1-91159-544-1.
  6. ^ Riley, Gillian (2007). The Oxford Companion to Italian Food. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 389. ISBN 978-0-19-860617-8.
  7. ^ Schneider, Edward (August 13, 2009). "Cauliflower Cheese". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  8. ^ Vargas, Sally Pasley (March 7, 2023). "Recipe: Cauliflower Cheese, a beloved comfort dish, is the British version of our mac and cheese". Boston Globe.
  9. ^ Beeton, Isabella (1861). Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. London: S. O. Beeton Publishing.
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