Thomas Jefferson, often called the farmer president, was an avid gardener and collector of new seeds and plants of fruits and vegetables to arrive in the United States. In 1766 he began keeping detailed notes in his garden book of any seeds or seedlings planted in his extensive garden at Montecello, his home near Charlottesville, Virginia. He recorded his planting of broccoli, along with radishes, lettuce, and cauliflower on May 27, 1767.

As early as 1775, broccoli was described in A Treatise on Gardening by a Citizen of Virginia by John Randolph who writes, "The stems will eat like Asparagus, and the heads like Cauliflower." Despite this encouraging description of broccoli, the poor vegetable received nothing more than indifference in the United States.

The one exception was the early Italian immigrants who grew broccoli in their backyard gardens and frequently enjoyed this green treasure at the family table.

Although broccoli entered the United States more than 200 years ago, it was not adopted into popular circles until the D'Arrigo brothers, Stephano and Andrea, immigrants from Messina, Italy, came to the United States along with their broccoli seeds. The D'Arrigo Brothers Company began with some trial plantings in San Jose, California in 1922. After harvesting their first crop, they shipped a few crates to Boston.

Meeting with success, they went on to establish their burgeoning broccoli business with the brand name Andy Boy, named after Stephano's two-year-old son, Andrew. They advertised by supporting a radio program and featured ads for broccoli on the station. By the 1930s the country was having a love affair with broccoli. People were convinced that broccoli was a newly developed plant.

Though some folks devoured broccoli enthusiastically, many gave it a definitive thumbs down. The New Yorker magazine once published a cartoon some time between 1925 and 1930 of a desperate mother trying to convince her child to eat broccoli. The cartoonist was E.B. White who preferred to be anonymous. The caption read as follows:

"It's broccoli, dear."
"I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it."

Throughout history, mention of broccoli seems to drop out of the historical accounts for long periods of time, indicating that it was so unpopular that it was simply not in use during those times.

 

 

This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

The vast majority of broccoli sold in North America is the standard green variety. But purple and golden varieties can be found at some farmers markets and specialty markets. They taste and cook up just like the green kind, but are particularly fun additions to a raw vegetable platter or salad.