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Penn Herb Wellness Guide

Broccoli

Broccoli: Main Image

Related Topics

  1. Penne with Sausage and Broccoli
  2. Recipes with Broccoli

Buying Tips

Broccoli is available year-round but is a cool-weather vegetable that is best between January and March. Broccoli should have a fresh smell, a bright green color, and firm, tender stalks. Avoid broccoli with yellowing leaves or flower buds, limp stalks or wilting heads, a pungent odor, or stalks that are thick and woody.

Varieties

Only one type of broccoli is generally found in markets, but a few close relatives of this vegetable are also available. Broccoli rabe has thinner stalks and is leafier, with smaller bunches of buds. It has a stronger, more bitter flavor, and all of the plant, including its leaves, is edible. Broccolini is a new vegetable that looks just like regular broccoli except that the stalks are delicate, with thin stems; the flower buds are also smaller.

Broccoli is available frozen and is sometimes included in frozen vegetable mixes.

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The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of USregistered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires December 2025.