Cauliflower in your own garden is an absolute highlight for many people. The cabbage is removed from the stalk and leaves and then cut into florets, which are prepared in different ways. More and more people are wondering whether Brassica oleracea var. Botrytis can be eaten raw or whether it is poisonous for humans.
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Recommended: eat cauliflower raw
The best thing about cauliflower: You can enjoy the cultivated variant of the classic vegetable cabbage (bot. Brassica oleracea) without heating. The reason for this is the lack of toxic substances in the plant. There are no toxins like in many other crops, so you can eat all parts of the harvested cauliflower. This includes:
- Florets
- Strunk
- leaves
Yes, you can even eat the fibrous, hard stalk of cauliflower as a raw food without it having a negative impact on your health. Even babies can eat raw cauliflower from the age of 8 months, as long as it’s just the florets or leaves. Before the age of 8 months, raw Italian cabbage simply causes too much gas and stomach pain. The stalk is generally not as good as raw food due to its hardness. It also contains bitter substances, which make the aroma not as pleasant as the other parts of the plant.
ingredients
The leaves are particularly aromatic and have the highest content of important ingredients. The ingredients as follows:
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Provitamin A
- Fiber
- Folic acid
- Phosphor
- calcium
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- other minerals
Much of these ingredients are lost when you peel the cauliflower. This is exactly why so many people think about cauliflower as a raw food. If you want to enjoy the cabbage raw, you should consider the following points:
- wash off thoroughly
- Cut out putrid spots
- remove rotten or dead leaves
You need to pay special attention to the possible inhabitants of the cauliflower: snails. Sometimes small snails hide in the florets and can hardly be seen with the naked eye due to their light color. So that you don’t have to eat raw snails, place the cauliflower upside down in a bowl and fill it with cold water. Now the cabbage is soaked for ten to twenty minutes. During this time the snails, insects and other crawfish swim to the surface of the water to escape. Another advantage of this method: you wash sand out of the florets that has become entangled.
Raw Cauliflower: Possible Problems
As you have now found out, you can easily consume cauliflower raw and do not have to worry about any toxic effects. In most cases it is possible for the majority of people to consume large amounts of cabbage themselves, as it is easily digestible and can be digested by humans within a short time. However, people with weak or sensitive stomachs may experience discomfort after consuming it. These show up in the following symptoms:
- stomach pain
- Flatulence
- nausea
- bloated stomach
- Constipation
The main reason for these symptoms is the composition of the cauliflower. Despite the easy digestibility, it is quite fibrous, especially the stalk. If large amounts of cabbage are consumed, the stomach can no longer keep up with breaking down the fibers and leading them out of the body. The fibers then ensure that many gases accumulate in the abdomen, which are busy breaking down the cauliflower. Over time, flatulence occurs because the gases cannot escape and only get out of the body over time. The same applies to constipation, which can last for days in sensitive stomachs.
Cauliflower allergy
Another problem is an allergy to the classic vegetable cabbage. It can be recognized by the following symptoms:
- Lips itch
- Vesicles on the lip
- tingling on the tongue, on the roof of the mouth, on the lips
- Itching of the skin
- Redness
- increased tear flow
- Niesreiz
- diarrhea
- Redness and itching of the anus
As you can see, the main effect of cauliflower is on the stomach and it is manifested in external appearances. In the worst cases, eating raw cauliflower causes breathing problems or even anaphylactic shock if the allergy is particularly severe. One advantage of Brassica oleracea var. Botrytis, however, is the low level of allergens. In addition, cauliflower is not one of the plants whose allergens can trigger cross-allergies. Often, however, there is some form of allergy to general cabbage, which means that you would have to forego the consumption of numerous types of cabbage. Otherwise there is no danger with raw cauliflower.
Conclusion
If you want to eat cauliflower raw, you can cut the entire head of cauliflower and eat it raw. Leaves, stems and florets can all be eaten raw and pose no threat to humans at all. For this reason, you can eat raw cabbage in peace and enjoy it in numerous dishes.
