Choosing the Right Broccoli For You

Calabrese: the most tender variety I grew. It stood all winter for me, but showed some damage in the heaviest frosts. Incredibly prolific with side-shoots after the main head was harvested and had a very traditional broccoli flavor.

Romanesco: a beautiful plant, and had more hardiness than was needed in my zone (actually grew in winter rather than just surviving), but it only produced one main head and stopped, no side-shoots for later harvest. Flavor was incredible, somewhere between broccoli and cauliflower with a nuttiness that you don't expect from something green.

Broccolo spigariello: technically a "leaf broccoli," so you harvest the greens, which have a broccoli flavor, rather than the heads. However, mine did produce many small florets, similar to the side-shoots of the Calabrese, whenever the weather warmed to be frost-free for a while. Flavor is a bit stronger, with that spiciness typical of Brassicas, but still very much broccoli-like. Didn't seem to mind my winter at all, but didn't thrive quite as much as the Romanesco.

I've also eaten the unopened flower buds of many other Brassicas. When I harvest these, I call them all broccoli, even though they technically aren't. The flavor is often reminiscent of the plant from which they came. I loved the mild earthy flavor of my Kohlrabi and cabbage buds, while collards and mustard could sometimes get a bit too spicy for my taste, especially as the weather warmed. Brussels sprouts were the only Brassica that would never go to flower in my garden, perhaps because my winter just wasn't cold enough.


Small Calabrese floret in the frost