Purple Broccoli: a super plant & super food

Last fall, I planted purple broccoli in my front yard garden beds. I wanted a splash of color in my yard, ideally something that was edible. Purple broccoli contains an antioxidant called anthocyanin.  Anthocyanins protect purple vegetables from sunlight damage, cold temperatures and other stressors. They are beneficial nutritionally and help prevent many lifestyle diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular and neurological diseases by protecting and healing your cells from damage.

Besides being good for you, purple vegetables also promote biodiversity. Commercial farming and monoculture limits the variety of veggies that you can purchase at the supermarket. Home gardening allows you to cultivate lesser-known varieties. Many other plants come in different varieties and colors, such as purple string beans and yellow cauliflower.

Purple broccoli does not taste any different from green broccoli. In fact, when you cook it, the vegetable turns green. The heat breaks apart the purple anthocyanin molecules on the surface of the broccoli head and reveals the green chlorophyll underneath.

Whether you are cooking green or purple broccoli, roasting is one of the best ways to bring out its flavor. Roasting the cut-up vegetable at a high heat (400 degrees) for 10-15 minutes after tossing it with olive oil brings out the sweetness and lightly chars the ends while the stems stay perfectly cooked through.

Believe it or not, my broccoli plants are still thriving, even as we approach January. They have survived a 4 inch snow storm in early December and nightly temperatures into the 20s. New florets continue to appear on the stems. This gives the phrase “frozen Broccoli” new meaning.

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