Hundred-Year-Old Tips for Selecting a High-Quality Head of Cauliflower

An article in the February, 1926 issue of Good Housekeeping showed photos of heads of cauliflower, and indicated whether they were high- or low-quality heads:

The head of cauliflower shown above represents an ideal purchase. Its jacket is fresh and bright, while the head is compact and of good color.

Below is shown a poor head of cauliflower. Its leaves are yellow and wilted, and the head is slightly opened.

The old article also contained three questions to ask when considering which head of cauliflower to purchase:

Is the jacket green and bright?

Is the flower clean and pearly white?

Is it solid, closely grained, and free from discoloration and decay?

The characteristics of high-quality cauliflower haven’t changed much over the years. According to the Postharvest Research and Extension Center at the University of California – Davis, these are current quality indices for cauliflower:

Quality Indices

A firm and compact head of white to cream white curds surrounded by a crown of well-trimmed, turgid green leaves. Additional quality indices are size, freedom from severe yellowing due to sunlight exposure, freedom from handling defects and decay, and an absence of ‘riciness’.

When I saw the old 1926 article, I was surprised that cauliflower was considered a winter vegetable a hundred years ago. I knew that it was a cool-season crop, but didn’t think of it as a winter vegetable.  But, after doing a little research, I learned that cauliflower can be grown during the winter months in southern parts of the U.S.

The Postharvest Research and Extension Center states that the “storage of cauliflower is generally not recommended for more than 3 weeks for good visual and sensory quality.” Assuming that cauliflower a hundred years ago could be stored for a similar length of time, it probably was transported to the north via train back then and available during the winter months throughout the U.S.