Best Don’t Waste Them! Five Delectable Ways To Prepare Broccoli Stems Recipes, News, and Advice- Tos Food waste is a significant issue in Canada, but there are several simple, often-overlooked steps you can take at home to significantly minimize your waste footprint.
- For example, finding inventive (and delectable!) ways to consume the frequently rejected portions of fruits and vegetables.
- The majority of people discard leaves, peels, stems, and stalks, despite the fact that they may add flavor, texture, and color to a variety of recipes.
- If you frequently question what to do with broccoli stems, we have you covered: After being peeled, they are sweet and crisp, and when cooked, they become extremely soft.
You can shred broccoli stems into rice, spiralize them into noodles, puree them into hummus or pesto, add them to broths, mix them into soups, and even bake them into french fries (yes, really!). Read on to find out how to accomplish it.
What can be done with broccoli stalks?
Five ways to cook broccoli stalks – airs weeknights at 7pm on SBS Food, or you can view it for free on. Broccoli may not be everyone’s favorite vegetable from childhood, but these small green trees bring so much complexity and color to cuisines from around the world.
- Their fluffy florets make for the perfect food mop in a curry or stew, and their stems give the perfect crunch when shredded fresh and added to a salad.
- This cruciferous vegetable is the ultimate two-for-one bargain.
- Many home chefs discard broccoli stems because they do not know how to prepare them or are unaware that they are edible.
They pay all the attention to the florets, guiding the lowly valued stems to a new home in the trash. They are, however, the unsung heroes of this magnificent vegetable. Add a few stems to it The texture and flavor of broccoli stems are comparable to those of kohlrabi.
They have a harder outer shell that contributes crunch when eaten raw, and a center that turns crisp and juicy when cooked. Once added to a meal, the stems impart a subtle, earthy flavor that serves as an excellent foundation for more robust flavors. In addition, they are nutritionally equivalent to the head, providing slightly more calcium, iron, and vitamin C per gram.
By adding the stems into your meal, you will not only prevent them from going to waste, but you will also get the nutritional benefits. A win-win situation exists. The food waste activist and co-founder of,, believes that broccoli stems are frequently discarded owing to ignorance and a fear of cooking with new foods.
Elliott-Howery continues, “I just believe it’s a habit.” “We’re taught that they should be discarded, and I believe a lot of people don’t even realize you can eat them.” Simply understanding how to prepare a component allows you to use the entire thing.” “People don’t realize there is so much flavor in the fibrous sections and don’t know how to prepare them,” says a chef and instructor from Cornersmith Cooking School.
After then, there is no turning back.” To prepare broccoli stems for cooking, the head chef suggests first removing and setting away all of the florets. Then, he cleans up the stem by slicing 5 centimeters off the woody base and peeling it gently; the remnants can be put to vegetable stocks or composted.
Can broccoli stems be consumed?
The florets, the blooms at the top of the stem that take up texture and absorb tastes and seasonings well, receive all the attention. The stems, however, are entirely edible if prepared properly; they taste similar to the florets, but are milder and sweeter, nearly like kohlrabi.
Some individuals like broccoli florets, however broccoli leaves and stems can also be consumed. The broccoli stem has the greatest fiber, but the broccoli leaves have the most cell-protecting antioxidants, vitamins E and K, and calcium. At the grocery store or farmer’s market, search for broccoli with dark green or purple florets, not yellow ones.
Do not wash broccoli until it is ready to be cooked. Unwashed, it will last a week in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Up to 90 percent of broccoli’s nutrients are destroyed by boiling, so cook it in a different manner. It may be easily roasted, steamed, stir-fried, or microwaved. Broccoli may also be eaten raw with hummus or salad dressing.
For further methods of preparing broccoli, please visit: Broccoli Parmesan Pasta Creamy Broccoli Soup Roasted Broccoli & Tomatoes
Can broccoli stems be used to make stock?
Make vegetable broth: – Before discarding broccoli stems, consider combining them with other veggies to make a homemade vegetable broth. They are also the ideal complement to broccoli soup! Instead of using simply the broccoli florets, cut the broccoli stems and add them to the dish along with the other ingredients.
