The "pith" of the cauliflower
When using cauliflower in a recipe, there is a lot of preparation work at the beginning: removing the leaves, taking the tops or florets, etc.
It's a bit tedious, but in the end you're left with the best of the cauliflower, ready to be used in your recipe.
It's a bit tedious, but in the end you're left with the best of the cauliflower, ready to be used in your recipe.
15 K 4.9/5 (14 reviews)
Keywords for this post:CauliflowerVegetablesBroccoliRecoveryTrimmingsLeftoversUseLast modified on: February 5th 2022
The "pith" of the cauliflower
We usually go through these 3 steps:
And it is only afterwards that the recipe really begins, the tops go into the cooking process for example.
But once we're done, the work surface is covered with cauliflower leaves and trimmings, and in particular with this:
Which is the center rib of the cauliflower, on which all the heads you patiently cut and removed were hanging.
This big white thing, which french chefs curiously call "the pith", we would be tempted to throw it in the compost with the rest of the trimmings, but that would be a shame.
In fact, it can be eaten, like the tops, you just have to cut it into pieces and then treat it like the rest of the cauliflower.
You will notice that, depending on the freshness of the cauliflower, it is slightly harder than the rest, but don't worry: start cooking with only the pith for 1 minute, and then continue by adding the rest, in the usual way.
Note that this process can be applied to other cabbages: broccoli, romanesco among others.
To sum up: Do not throw away the center of cauliflower, broccoli or romanesco cabbage, this part can be cooked with the rest of the vegetable.
And it is only afterwards that the recipe really begins, the tops go into the cooking process for example.
But once we're done, the work surface is covered with cauliflower leaves and trimmings, and in particular with this:
Which is the center rib of the cauliflower, on which all the heads you patiently cut and removed were hanging.
This big white thing, which french chefs curiously call "the pith", we would be tempted to throw it in the compost with the rest of the trimmings, but that would be a shame.
In fact, it can be eaten, like the tops, you just have to cut it into pieces and then treat it like the rest of the cauliflower.
You will notice that, depending on the freshness of the cauliflower, it is slightly harder than the rest, but don't worry: start cooking with only the pith for 1 minute, and then continue by adding the rest, in the usual way.
Note that this process can be applied to other cabbages: broccoli, romanesco among others.
To sum up: Do not throw away the center of cauliflower, broccoli or romanesco cabbage, this part can be cooked with the rest of the vegetable.
Lasts posts
A tablet holder
Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.March 14th 20261,1275
Pre-calibrated pastry dough
When making pie dough (shortbread, shortcrust, sweet...), it's always a good idea to make a lot at once, and then divide it into pieces, which you can freeze. I've already pointed out the mistake not to make, which is to form a ball before freezing. It's difficult to roll out afterwards because...March 9th 20261,1125
Butter vs. grease
We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?December 1st 20253,1675
Getting out of the fridge early
Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?November 24th 20252,0915
Who's making the croissants?
When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...November 23th 20251,914
Other pages you may also like
Cleaning endives
If you buy your endives elsewhere than in supermarkets, and in this case the best is of course from a market gardener, he or she is the one who planted and harvested them, in this case you will have endives full of earth or sand, depending on where they were grown, which is normal and reassuring, we...March 24th 202027 K4.6
Markers in cooking
When it comes to cooking, there is only one real rule, and that is that there are no rules! By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good. I have friends who...July 3rd 202113 K5
The beautiful story of the croissants
As you may have already noticed, cooking, baking and pastry-making are full of stories or legends, usually very romantic, about this or that product or recipe. This is often the case for named recipes, for example tarte tatin, peach melba, paris-brest and many others, but it also applies to very...October 10th 201821 K5
The dissociation of a preparation
It may have already happened to you: You prepare a sauce, a cream, a ganache etc. and then suddenly or almost, the whole thing dissociates, and from a smooth mixture that you were preparing with love, you end up with a horrible thing with a more or less solid part and another liquid part. It's...January 22th 202213 K4.9
Toss the salad
When you've finished preparing a salad, green or otherwise, it's usually time to add the dressing and toss. It's often said to "toss the salad", which means to season and mix. Is it easy? Not so easy...March 8th 202413 K5
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.