About two years ago I noticed something funny as I flipped through a grocery store flyer. On the produce page was an ugly, green-looking cauliflower, with the caption “$2.99! Broccoflower!” It was hilarious. A green cauliflower labelled as a Broccoflower. The bizarre misfit child from two of nature’s most hideous vegetables. The best part is that people usually don’t believe me when I mention it and, to top it off, I’ve never seen it advertised since — like the mutant Broccoflower was shunned by society and has since flown home.
AWESOME!
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131 Comments
June 20, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Ahhh.. Trusty Broccoflower. Up there on my list of favorite mutants along with the Liger/Tigon, the Pumapard (exactly what you think it would be), the Zeedonk, the Wolphin and Donatello.
I wonder if you could be a good Broccoflower Au Gratin.
November 17, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I’ve totally had this!! Funny thing is, mom doesn’t remember bringing it home when we were younger. Being the creep that I am, I just smothered it with ketchup (like I did with both broc and cauli) and it was fiiiine.
March 20, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Ketchup always solves everything!
March 1, 2010 at 5:21 pm
OMG, finally someone that actually knows the truth about ligers tigons ligons tiliger tiligons etc. no one actually believes they’re true.
April 20, 2010 at 4:51 pm
In Pereira, a Colombian city, there were a couple of Ligers some 25 years ago. They had a size between a Lion and a Tiger, amber fur with very thin and subtle stripes, and they were VERY beautiful animals. They were well cared for and died of old age. I think they were the result of accidental (?) sharing of a habitat. I saw them.
May 1, 2010 at 2:54 pm
when my son was around 6 3o plus years ago we saw a tigerlon at a wildlife zoo in florida. When we got back north the teacher would not believe him so his grandmother has to track back to wild bobs and get pictures and literature.
May 15, 2010 at 4:29 pm
ligers were my junior high mascot :)
March 8, 2010 at 9:36 am
I live in Germany and this is super popular. They call it Romanesco broccoli here.
April 28, 2010 at 10:19 pm
There’s a small zoo near us in Nova Scotia that has a Zonkey! It’s AWESOME! It only has stripes on its legs… so cool. It’s one of those animals that makes me smile, and I always make sure my 4-year-old son sees it before we leave the zoo. It’s one of those things you can’t miss!
August 6, 2010 at 1:44 pm
That “zonkey” is probably actually an Okapi….
July 13, 2010 at 4:00 am
I solve the mistery: this is a Broccolo Romanesco (Roman Broccoli). It is very common here in Italy and you can eat it as you prefer even au gratin (but before you have to stew it!). Sara
August 9, 2010 at 11:55 pm
fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddb…………………………………………………………………….brocoflower?!?!?!?!?!
August 30, 2010 at 9:52 am
How about the lowly cabbot
June 25, 2008 at 10:53 pm
My policy is to avoid all foods that look to be from outer space.
Eggplant.
Mushrooms.
And, apparently, broccoflower.
December 3, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Actually, mushroom are deeeeeelicious from my point of view. Slap some black olives and Shitaki mushrooms on a cheese pizza. mmmmmMMM!
May 10, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Mushroom are incredible. I have yet to try eggplant and I don’t think I would like broccoflower, simply because I hate cauliflower.
June 26, 2008 at 11:06 am
It’s awesome because it is shaped like a fractal.
May 12, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Holy crap…
It does look like a fractal!!!
June 21, 2009 at 3:41 am
Haha that was actually the first thing I noticed
I’m such a nerd :P
October 14, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Broccolli and the Broccoflower is actually a fractal.
When I was a child, my mother taught me about fractals (she did her PHD in Chaos Theory), and the way she explained it to my little 5 year old mind was using broccolli, so you are right! it is a fractal!
April 20, 2010 at 9:07 pm
fractal is my new word I had to look up the definition on Wikipedia. I wonder if I will see it everywhere now like # 523.
June 26, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I first discovered broccoflower when I spent the summer of ’91 in Deep Cove, B.C. I just figured everything out west is “green”, even the cauliflower.
June 27, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Reminds me of one of my favourite grocery store purchases — the Grapple.
“Looks like an apple…tastes like a grape!”
‘Nuff said.
(http://www.grapplefruits.com)
April 30, 2009 at 8:45 pm
haha that would be awesome.. a grape the size of an apple… sweet
November 20, 2009 at 3:43 am
I have had those they are awesome!!
July 15, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Broccoflower isn’t particularly weird… Cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts are, believe it or not, all the same species of plant: Brassica oleracea.
@Peter
Romanesco broccoli (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli) has an even more awesome fractal shape.
February 23, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Romanesco broccoli (I think) IS broccoflower, except it’s in Italy.
July 18, 2008 at 10:30 am
I like broccoflower.
July 18, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I like the stuff, but then I like Broccoli and cauliflower anyway. It also comes in Orange and purple, but those colors don’t have catchy names. I see it in Orlando fairly often. Whole Foods has it occasionally.
July 18, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I wonder if you experience some kind of weird hybrid gas with this … just asking
April 25, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Yes, you do.
July 19, 2008 at 11:51 am
That is really awesome..didn’t know such thing exists but its good to know now, never too late to know an awesome thing..
July 20, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I was a student at the University of Guelph when they were developing the broccoflower. They kept telling us that it was the beginning the bio-technical future of agriculture. They made us eat it. I apparently survived.
August 7, 2008 at 3:49 am
Broccoflowers are beautiful. They look like fractals. I had one for my desktop background for the longest time and would stare at it often.
August 7, 2008 at 4:20 am
meh green, get the purple one!
August 7, 2008 at 6:56 pm
You’re completely retarded, and evidently so is your grocer, that is a romanesco. Read a book!
August 10, 2008 at 2:56 am
In the UK we call this Romansesco
August 12, 2008 at 8:27 am
To Paul: bullshit, broccoflower has always existed here in Italy, there is no artificial “development” behind it. Here you can find it in every grocery store, and I find it astonishingly beautiful, and tasty as well. Here we call it “cavolo romano”.
August 17, 2008 at 2:10 pm
This is NOT a Romanesco, it is a Broccoflower. They are different things, and in fact each have a fairly distinctive look. I have seen them both sitting next to each other at the store.
While I would love to read a book about the
Romanesco, Johnny, they appear to be difficult to find. Maybe your giant brain can tell me where I can learn as much about food as you know.
August 28, 2008 at 2:34 am
Go to Italy. This is the only kind of Broccoli they sell. They call it Romanesco (yes Moomar) or Roman Broccoli… neon green and castle shaped. Awesome and awkward. Praise nature.
September 28, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Yikes people, you’re fighting over GREEN CAULIFLOWER! Just eat it and shut up!
October 28, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Before you guys start a food fight (har har), you should check out the Wiki article on the topic: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoflower).
Here you will see that there is actually two types of Broccoflower – one that has the physical attributes of white cauliflower (as pictured in the original blog post), and the other is the Romanesco variety. A quick good image search of both terms will show that they do indeed look quite different.
August 8, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Wow, the world certainly needs more Freddo’s in it :) keep up the beautiful work, very tastefully done!
December 10, 2008 at 8:14 am
It looks just like form out of space. I love it :)
when I firs saw it I couldn’t help the impression that it was dropped down on the Earth by some Little Green Spaceman.
It really is awesome for it’s so very unusuall as for a vegetable :)
December 14, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Was just out to the store and we saw Brocoflower and a “novelty colour” one. My girlfriend took some pics as well.
December 17, 2008 at 1:06 am
omg! two of my favorite foods in one!?! I’m not even being sarcastic. that sounds awesome!
January 5, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I love this broccoli. We eat it all the time here in Rome and you can find it anywhere. I love the fractals…it makes me think nature has some sort of rules!
February 27, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Yes, nature has some rules. Look at the Fibonacci series and its application in nature, as in the swirls of a seashell, petals of a pinecone, a flower, etc. Nature definitely has rules.
February 27, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I forgot to say, study what Bartok the composer wrote about nature and mathematical proportions.
January 28, 2010 at 4:37 pm
well i am in India & can assosiate with it. broccoli looks nice in the veg market ..but personally never tested them..:)
January 16, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Who cares what it’s called? It tastes great even plain but with a cheese sauce…yumm. Try it dipped in garlic butter!
January 23, 2009 at 2:04 am
Omg I saw this in the supermarket once when me and my mates were groccery shopping, I’d never seen it before. I flipped i still can’t figure out why they would produce something that unnaturally green, i mean it looks radioactive :)
Me and my mum have a similar oddity that nobody believes is real. It’s the Giant Otter, it grows to 6 foot, and lives in the Amazon. My mum saw a doco on it once, and I’ve discovered it through research on the Amazon at school, but no-one believes it’s real.
But I guess it’s cause a 6 foot otter is kinda unbelievable cause we generally think otters are cute little cuddly things :)
February 1, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I live in New Zealand, and these are sold normally, along with any other vegetable that you usually find in a fruit and vege shop. Im sure most New Zealanders know what a broccoflower is.
April 1, 2009 at 12:53 pm
EW.
April 26, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Maybe the geniuses at U of Guelph can splice in cheese, too. I’d definitely eat a broccocheddoflower.
May 7, 2009 at 3:02 pm
What about those square watermelons…. the Japanese can do anything
May 9, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Square watermelons is just wrong! What’s next? Square apples? Square pears?
November 16, 2009 at 9:40 pm
@Camping and equipment: heh. I wonder if “square apples” (if there were such a thing) would be called “squapples”. :)
I too like broccoflowers.
May 12, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Now if someone could just crossbreed a mango with a banana! Imagine…the yumminess of a mango, with the easy-to-peelness of a banana. You could call it a banango…or a mangana :-)
May 15, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I love the idea of a banango! Not to mention it would just be fun to say. Sya it with me, folks, “Banango.” See?! Awesome!
June 5, 2009 at 8:55 am
Hey don’t knock it till you try it its great
June 20, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I LLLOOOVVEEE your website i really hope you can make it all the way to number UNO!!
August 19, 2009 at 9:16 am
it’s roman broccoli!! who calls it broccoflower?! weirdos :-p
and nevermind that it is super delicious, its also amazing structurally (you know you’re a nerd if… i know ;)). look at it next time. its phi! fractals within fractals within … you get the point.
don’t mock it just because you’re ignorant!
(no offense, i’m just saying…)
September 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
[...] by Neil (First name only. Like Sting or Madonna) 1000 Awesome Things started at #1000 and is counting down to the number one top most awesome thing. Today, he is at #680 – [...]
September 14, 2009 at 11:36 am
In Québec, it is called ”brocofleur” and it is sold all year round. We also have the purple and the orange ones. They are all very good.
October 12, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I like them but they give you gas sometimes.
October 13, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Much like a comet or an eclipse, the broccoflower only comes around occasionally. Best to enjoy to its fullest at each rare opportunity.
October 24, 2009 at 5:34 am
I’ve had my own strange encounter with this hybrid-veggie, that I can only explain with multimedia.
I picked up this sign at my local grocery chain and became hugely suspicious:
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg16/roximonoxide/livejournal/broccoflower.png
This brings up so many more questions. Not only had I never heard of ‘broccoflower’ before, but apparently the Metro is trying to keep it’s sale under wraps. What was that email about? Why design/print a flyer to be destroyed like a secret message from Chief Quimby? What is this mutant vegetable conspiracy I’ve stumbled upon?!
November 2, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Broccoflower unfortunately doesn’t taste like a combo, because broccoli is ALREADY a genetically modified food.
Broccoli Rab (aka rapini) was combined with cauliflower to make what we now know as broccoli, and so this “broccoflower” is 3/4 cauliflower, and tastes nothing like it’s green parent.
Quite sad, actually.
December 10, 2009 at 10:35 pm
AND… broccoli is a “evolutionary” derivitive from the mustard plant.
November 10, 2009 at 4:17 am
Have you heard of the Nectacot?
December 11, 2009 at 11:17 am
Yes, I have recently discovered nectacots on sale here in the U.K. They have a smooth skin and are a simlar size to apricots. They have quite a nice mixed apricot/nectarine taste
November 10, 2009 at 8:44 am
Man, your website made my day! AWESOME! it’s the 1001 awesomest thing :) Why don’t you make a book ? I’ll promise I’ll buy it !
Best wishes from Switzerland :)
November 10, 2009 at 8:47 am
CRAP. Sorry, i’m not very smart. Just came up the page and seen the “Book” section. Shhaaaamme…
November 15, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Ah! In work we make a salad with broccoli and cauliflower, and I call it broccoflower. I’ve even got the customers saying it now lol
November 16, 2009 at 1:25 am
My family eats this all the time. The smell is disgusting.
November 16, 2009 at 6:01 am
When I was a kid, the only two vegetables I liked were broccoli and cauliflower, so I was soooooo excited when I first heard about broccoflower!
I live in California, so you can get it at most grocery stores pretty easily. The purple and orange ones kind of freak me out though.
About ten years ago, I fell in love with these canned snow peaches, which are a peach/plum hybrid. My friend always referred to them as pleaches. I see pluots (plum/apricot hybrids) all the time, but no pleaches. What’s up with that?!
November 16, 2009 at 4:08 pm
The ‘aprium’ (apricot+plum) is another tasty hybrid!
November 17, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I saw this as one of the top 1000 Awesome Things, and I smiled so big I almost started crying. My mother LOVES broccoflower, and if it wasn’t for her, I would have never discovered this incredibly sweet treat.
I am in Iraq right now, and this just made me wish I was home eating broccoflower with my mom more than ever. I can’t wait until the day I am able to!
November 17, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I’ve totally had this!! Funny thing is, mom doesn’t remember bringing it home when we were younger. Being the creep that I am, I just smothered it with ketchup (like I did with both broc and cauli) and it was fiiiine.