Cauliflower

“ No one really cares about great cauliflower suns, and startling contrasts of blazing purple and emerald green. There is nothing really beautiful in Nature except her decay; her rank weeds, and dank grasses, and funereal evening glooms. ”

“ Both cauliflower and sprouts are to be well cleaned, boiled separately in salt water and served on the puré, the cauliflower in the centre and the sprouts around it for garnishing. The sauce, to which is added the egg dotters, butter and cream, is poured hot over the cauliflower and sprouts.
18. Au Gratin (Good Living) .—Boil the cauliflower as directed. Set it in a round baking dish which can be sent to the table. For a moderate sized cauliflower make one pint of cream sauce (No. 42) . Add to the sauce two heaping tablespoons each or grated Parmesian and Gruyère cheese and a dash of cayenne. ”

“ This is one of the finest vegetables grown, and succeeds well in the vicinity of New Orleans. Large quantities are raised on the sea-coast in the neighborhood of Barataria Bay. The two Italian varieties are of excellent quality, growing to large size, and are considered hardier than the German and French varieties. I have had specimens brought to my store, raised from seed obtained from me, weighing sixteen pounds. The ground for planting cauliflower should be very rich. They thrive best in rich, sandy soil, and require plenty of moisture during the formation of the head. ”

“ They receive but little attention in the United States, where the winters, at least at the north, in the vicinity of the leading markets, are too severe for the out-door growth of vegetables of any kind. For this reason cauliflowers, which come to maturity in a single season, are grown instead. ”

“ It is unsafe to plant cauliflowers after cauliflowers, or any other plant of the cabbage tribe, though it is sometimes successfully done. Newly cleared land, or land fresh from the sod, is even more desirable for cauliflowers than for cabbages. ”

“ There are comparatively small areas, even in the most favorable portions of that continent, where it can be profitably grown. Although the climate of [Pg 20] Europe, as a whole, is better for this vegetable than that of the United States, the greater success with the cauliflower there is due largely to the greater care exercised in choosing proper soil, in fertilization, and in irrigation. The area of cauliflower growing has largely increased in Europe within the past few years. In the vicinity of Angiers, France, the growing of cauliflower for market began about 1880. ”

“ The cauliflower is a gross feeder, and land intended for this crop can hardly be made too rich. Barn-yard manure is usually employed, and there is nothing better for general use. Commercial fertilizers—potash, soda and phosphates—are also good, especially to promote heading. The wild plant from which the cauliflower is derived being a native of the sea-shore, common salt seems particularly adapted to it. ”

“ No vegetable will respond more quickly to good culture and well-manured soil than the cauliflower, and none will prove such an utter failure when neglected. It is imperative that care be taken to destroy all the cabbage worms before the leaves are tied in, as after that it will be impossible to see or reach them. From 1000 to 1500 plants may be grown from 1 ounce of seed. Good cauliflower seed is very expensive. ”

“ Among the many uncertain crops, the cauliflower stands prominent, for very often under the best culture, it fails to produce a head on an acre, although the usual outlay for preparing and manuring the ground preparatory to planting will be at least twice as much as for a crop of late cabbage. But when a full crop of cauliflower is raised, the profits will average three times that of the cabbage in the same market. This being the case, it is not strange that every means known to the profession should be resorted to with the hope of getting year after year maximum crops of this vegetable. ”

“ The cauliflower, like the strawberry, is exceedingly sensitive to the presence or absence of sufficient water, and success or failure with the crop may turn on its having a full supply from the time they are half grown. The finest specimens raised in Europe are grown in beds, which are kept well watered from the supply which runs between them; and the most successful growers in the country irrigate their crops during periods of drouth. ”

“ I am told by very good authority that cauliflower seeds had never been grown in the United States as a field crop to any extent until we made a success of it here on Puget Sound. In the first [Pg 116] place a very cool, moist climate is necessary to cure [secure] seeds at all. That climate we have here on our low flat islands lying in the mouth of the Gulf of Georgia. We often have heavy fogs in the night, and always dews equal to a light shower every night all summer long. The first expense attending the raising of cauliflower seed is quite heavy. ”

“ Cauliflower, which Thackeray calls the "apotheosis of cabbage," is the most delicate of vegetables; and a purée of cauliflower shall close our chapter on soups.
Boil in salted water, using a small piece of butter, two heads of cauliflower, drain and pass them through a colander, dilute with two quarts of sauce and a quart of chicken broth, season with salt, white pepper, and grated nutmeg. Add a teaspoonful of fine white sugar, then pass the whole forcibly with a wooden presser through a fine sieve,—the finer the sieve the better the purée. ”

“ Although some of the earliest writers on this vegetable mention two or more varieties, these were in some cases merely different crops produced by sowing the seed at different periods. In 1796, Marshall, in his English work on gardening, says that "cauliflower is sometimes distinguished into an early and late sort; though in fact there is no difference, only as the seed of that called 'early' is saved from the foremost plants." Phillips, in 1822, said: "Our gardeners furnish us with an early and a late variety, both of which are much esteemed." ”

“ The large cauliflower growers of Long Island usually sow the seed in drills across one end of the field in which the crop is to be grown, raking into the soil before sowing, a moderate dressing of some commercial fertilizer. ”

“ The Cauliflower, like the Broccoli, is strictly an annual plant; as it blossoms and perfects its seed the year in which it is sown. When fully grown or in flower, it is about four feet in height, and in character and general appearance is similar to the Cabbage or Broccoli at a like stage of growth. The seeds resemble those of the Cabbage in size, form, and color ”

“ Henderson and Son describe this Cauliflower as the finest kind in cultivation; pure white; size of the head over two feet; in growth, very dwarfish,—the stem not more than two or three inches from the soil. It is one of the hardiest varieties known, and is said to withstand the extreme variations of the climate of the United States. ”

“ While this plan has great advantages, the carrots left behind do not attain so great a size as would be the case if thinning had been attended to earlier.
A deep, well-cultivated soil is the best for this crop. In heavy soils that have not been deeply worked, the short-rooted kinds, such as Ox-heart, should be planted.
Cauliflower.—The cultivation of cauliflower is substantially the same as that of cabbage. It is a cool-weather crop, and not much success is likely to be obtained if attempts are made to mature it during hot weather. ”

“ If bright sunshine comes out, shade the newly moved plants with broad leaves, and water them daily with the watering pot for a few days, besides [Pg 89] irrigating sufficiently to keep the soil moist. Afterwards, hoeing, picking grubs and replacing the losses from the seed-bed must be attended to.
The selection of sorts is a serious matter in cauliflower culture, because many sorts grow only to leaves in some climates, and great loss has been met with by some people in consequence of getting the wrong variety. ”

“ Gathering.—Cauliflower may be cut before it is mature, but the flavor is not so well developed as it is when the heads are full grown. For winter shipment heads from four to six inches in diameter are of a desirable size and the market will take them fully as well or better than large ones. The field should be picked over at least every two or three days during the season, though heads will remain in good condition for nearly a week if the weather be cold. ”

“ In France the cauliflower has been crossed artificially with cabbage, turnip and rutabaga, in the attempt to obtain varieties of greater hardiness. Numerous peculiar forms were the result of these crosses, some of which were good cauliflowers, said to be of increased hardiness, but none of them have found their way into general cultivation. One of these, owing to a cross with the turnip, acquired [Pg 114] the flavor of that vegetable. A full account of these crosses may be found in the Revue Horticole for 1880. ”

“ The chapter on cooking cauliflower should not be overlooked. One reason why there is such a limited demand for this vegetable in this country is that so few here know how to cook it. The methods of cooking it are simple enough, but there are many persons who always hesitate to try anything new, and as cauliflowers do not appear regularly in the market these people never learn how to use them. ”

“ From a gardener’s point of view the head is not so large and hard, the vegetable not forming a solid heart as it does in England. But this may be accounted for by want of sufficient manure and attention—good gardening, in short—and perhaps the climate is not wholly to blame.
The cauliflower flourishes fairly well under similar cultivation to the cabbage, but being more delicate requires greater attention; differing from the latter, the heads are well formed, but it is necessary to shade them when coming to perfection, the clean, white growth being liable to be damaged by the too ardent sun. ”

“ Cut the cauliflower in small pieces, but long, so as to show the flower; lay them twenty-four hours in salt and water; then take out and wash and drain them for two hours; add to the vinegar, mustard seed, horse-radish, ginger, allspice, and mace; boil for ten minutes, and pour over the cauliflower.
TO PICKLE RED CABBAGE.
Cut up the cabbage with a slaw cutter; sprinkle it with salt in alternate layers; let it stand twenty-four hours; then take it out and drain it; put it in a jar, and pour boiling vinegar, with horse-radish, black pepper, and cloves; cover it; when nearly cold, tie up the jar. ”

“ Take cauliflower cooked the day before, divide into small tufts, dip in egg and roll in cracker or bread crumbs, or make a batter in the proportion of one egg, two tablespoonfuls of milk and one tablespoonful of flour. Beat the eggs very light before adding to the milk and flour, and into this dip the cauliflower. Have the butter boiling hot in the frying pan, put in the cauliflower and fry a light brown, garnish with parsley. ”

“ Boil a cauliflower in salted water for one hour, drain, and break it into bits. Put a layer of cauliflower into a pie-dish, cover with Béchamel or ‘Alla Panna’ sauce (see Sauces, pp. 119, 125) , and sprinkle with some grated cheese. Fill the dish with alternate layers of cauliflowers and sauce, then cover the top with bread-crumbs, grated cheese, and bits of butter. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Serve hot. ”

“ Brussels Sprouts:—In my opinion this vegetable leaves the cabbage almost as far behind as the cauliflower does. It is, if anything, more easily grown than cabbage, except that the young plants do not seem able to stand quite so much cold. When mature, however, it seems to stand almost any amount of freezing, and it is greatly improved by a few smart frosts, although it is very good when succeeding the spring crop of cauliflower. It takes longer to mature than either cabbage or cauliflower. ”

“ One should not judge of the value of a variety wholly by the price at which its seed is sold. Most of the high priced varieties are dwarf kinds, which are becoming more and more popular in this country, but which produce comparatively little seed.
Our varieties of cauliflowers have all been developed by means of selection. Desirable features have either been acquired by gradual selection through successive generations in a given locality; or some sudden variation has been preserved and perpetuated. Climate, as already stated, has had much to do in developing certain peculiarities. ”

“ For a number of years, while engaged in market gardening and fruit growing in Western Michigan, the writer made a specialty of raising cauliflowers for the Grand Rapids and Chicago markets, planting from three to five acres a year. During this time most of the varieties offered by American seedsmen were tested, and the best methods of cultivation sought. On the whole, the cauliflower crop was found more profitable than any other, with the possible exception of peaches. There were partial failures, but these were due to causes which might [Pg 6] have been foreseen and prevented. ”

“ Should we glance at some of our garden vegetables, as, for example, the cabbages in their various races, every one will be struck with the strangeness, to say the least, of the forms produced. In contrast with the head of the true cabbage, where leaf is folded upon leaf until a mass of metamorphosed foliage as large as a half bushel is produced, there is the cauliflower, with the edible substance stored in a fleshy inflorescence that has lost its normal function and become truly monstrous. ”

“ There is the cabbage proper, then cauliflower, broccoli or a more hardy cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi, a cabbage-turnip combination. George has worked out cabbage culture successfully. I refer to him for full particulars.
"Cauliflower is a kind of refined, high-toned cabbage relative. It needs a little richer soil than cabbage and cannot stand the frost. A frequent watering with manure water gives it the extra richness and water it really needs. The outer leaves must be bent over, as in the case of the young cabbage, in order to get the white head. ”