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The bright green color of broccoli adds color to a variety of dishes. It's also delicious whether you eat it raw in salads or dips, simply boiled or steamed or even in tempura.
How to identify sweet broccoli
Broccoli is available year-round, but surprisingly, its season is from November to March.
Twitter user 青髪のテツ Aogami no Tetsu (@tetsublogorg), a produce manager at a supermarket who often shares helpful fruit and veggie advice online, posted this request about broccoli:
As the weather gets colder, you may see broccoli in the vegetable section with buds that are slightly purple.
According to Tetsu, this purple color is not a sign of damage, but a sign that the cold has made it sweeter!
Reproduced with permission from 青髪のテツ Aogami no Tetsu (@tetsublogorg)
It is said that broccoli buds turn purple because they produce anthocyanin pigments, a type of polyphenol, to resist cold temperatures and arid conditions during the cold months.
Curiously, this purple color is lost when boiled and becomes a bright green color.
Many people reacted to the post, leaving comments such as:
Maybe more people will actively seek out purple broccoli in the future!