Types of cauliflower: characteristics, properties and much more

orange cauliflower

Also known as cheddar cauliflower, it is a hybrid that produces bright orange curds. They contain more of the orange pigment called beta-carotene (which acts as a precursor to vitamin A, and because they are strong, they keep plants looking good even if they don’t flower when harvested.

In fact, when you cook this cauliflower, takes on a brighter and darker color and, due to its durability, you can harvest the plants at different times instead of all at once and still enjoy their flavor and texture. Orange Bouquet is another type of orange cauliflower.

There are four types of cauliflower: round, dome, cone, and flat, and their variety depends on the harvest cycle, as described below.

purple cauliflower

Both graffiti cauliflower and purple head cauliflower have a striking purple curd, which is tender and mild in flavor.

You can cook these types of cauliflower or add them to salads, and while graffiti cauliflower remains purple even after cooking, purple headed cauliflower turns green. Like other types of cauliflower, purple cauliflower is rich in vitamins and minerals, very healthy for you, and tastes great.

The purple color in this cauliflower comes from water-soluble pigments that are also present in red wine and cabbage, with purple varieties like Purple Cape and Purple Queen, the latter with very bright purple curds that taste great raw.

In southern Italy and the UK, there is a species of broccoli with small sprouts known as purple cauliflower, although it doesn’t technically fall into this category.

european cauliflower

The original cauliflower was developed in Italy, but has since been brought to other parts of Europe, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Some of the more important types are Northern, Anger, Roscoff, Cornish, Erfurt and Snowball. Most grow in cool climates, although Erfurt can be grown in summer. These are some characteristics of these cauliflowers:

• Cauliflower from Angers: highly wavy toothed leaves; the curd is pure white.
• Cornish cauliflower: long stems, loose leaves, flat curd with lots of flavor.
• Northern Cauliflower: broad, wavy leaves; well-protected and tasty curd.
• Roscoff cauliflower: Long, erect leaves with pointed tips; bluish-green leaves and white to creamy rennet.
• Snowball and Erfurt Cauliflower: Dwarf plants, short green leaves, curdled and well protected.

indian cauliflower

These cauliflowers are fundamentally different from cauliflowers grown in Europe, mainly because they tolerate high humidity and heat better and ripen fairly quickly. Most Indian cauliflower is a dwarf variety of the Snowball or Erfurt variety.

Types of summer and fall cauliflower

Below we present some varieties with a short cycle of 45 to 90 days, harvested in summer and autumn, such as the following:

romantic christmas

It has a pyramid shape with light green particles of medium size. Broccoli flavor and easy to freeze.

Cauliflower Freemont

Cauliflower varieties have very compact, medium-sized, rounded, flat heads.

Snowball

The particles are fine and dense, with spherical and dense particles of medium size. Snowball cauliflower is an excellent heirloom variety and there may not be a better cauliflower in your garden. Snowball-sized pure white heads can be harvested when they are as short as 5cm or reach 15cm; can also be forced.

Wonderful

Hardy variety, easy to grow, white coat, fluffy and bushy, wide leaves, medium size, well preserved after harvest.

Late Fall and Winter Types of Cauliflower

Medium cycle varieties and harvest from late autumn to mid-winter, 3-4 months. The granules are very compact, more compact than short cycle varieties. Some important examples are:

Cauliflower Angers

The variety is white, with a firm and smooth skin, fine-grained, early-ripening and resistant to cold. Excellent variety of winter cauliflower from the Angers region of France. This cauliflower produces large white heads and can be harvested in April. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Transplant when the plant has 4-5 leaves, make rows every 50 cm, with a separation of 50 cm, and do not bury the stems too much. When planting in the ground, plant slightly with a spacing of 50 cm. It thins up to a maximum of 50 cm on the production line.

Canberra

Cauliflower native to Australia, medium-sized, white, with very uniform and compact grains.

Primus

French variety, tall, medium, white, spherical, dense, fine grained, hard grained.

Lasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower variety from the Netherlands with White, spherical, dense, fine-grained, firm particles.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the different types of cauliflower that exist and their characteristics.