All About Cauliflowers

The cauliflower is a cultivar in brassica oleracea species, in the Brassicaceae family. It is an annual plant which reproduces by seed. A cultivar is a crop plant which is selected and given a single name because it has desirable characteristics which (decorative or useful) distinguish it from similar plants of the same species. Once propagated, it maintains these characteristics.

The cauliflower thrives in moist soils, with a decent content of organic matter as well as a pH in the range of 6-7. It requires a cool and moist environment. Currently, more than half the cauliflowers in the world comes from China, and about a quarter of it comes from India. As you can see, most of the cauliflowers in the world are from Asia. In North America, the region of California is the highest producer of cauliflower.

Now, from the various groups in which cauliflowers are classified, there are four main groups in which all types of cauliflower can be classified:

1. Italian type - These have a diverse appearance. They have both annual and biennial types. These basically constitute the ancestral varieties from which all the modern varieities have been developed. This category includes white and Romanesco varieties as well as various green, purple, brown and yellow cultivars.  

2. Asian type - It constitutes tropical cauliflower that are used in China and India. These were developed in India during the 19th century from the now-abandoned Cornish type. This class includes old and vintage varieties such as Early Patna and Early Benaras. 

3. Northwest European biennial type - This type was basically cultivated in Europe for winter and early spring harvest. It was Developed in France in the 19th century. It includes the old cultivars such as Roscoff and Angers.

4. The Northern European annual type - this particular class of cauliflower has been used in Europe and North America for the harvest of summer and fall. It was developed in Germany in the 18th century. It includes old cultivars such as Erfurt and Snowball. 

Moving on to the actual varieties of cauliflower, the study done by University of Saskatchewan revealed more than 100 varieties of cauliflower, all of them being classified into the above four classes. 

Some of the traditional varieties include 'Snowball', 'Hybrid White', 'Super Snowball', 'Snow Crown', 'Mayflower', Candid Charm', 'Mormon', 'Agrahani', 'poushi', 'maghi', 'Snow White', 'Snow Grace'. Self-blanching varieties are 'Self Blanche', 'Early Tuscan', and ‘Late Tuscan'. 

There are a certain number of heirloom varieties (Meaning those open pollinated cultivars that were cultivated in earlier periods but are out of use in the modern-day large scale agriculture) which include 'All the Year Round', 'Early Pearl', 'Early Snowball', 'Igloo', 'Violetta Italia' and 'Walcheren Winter'. Commercial varieties include 'Fremont', 'Igloo' and 'Snow Crown'. 

The study performed by University of Saskatchewan also encapsulated the salient features of each one of these varieties, but covering all that content is not within the scope of this article. Hopefully, at the end of this article, the readers would at least have formulated some idea in their mind regarding cauliflower and its various types.