Broccoli
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Broccoli is a part of the cabbage family, which was first officially discovered around the year 100 AD. It is a part of what is classified as the Italica cultivar group. The name comes from a combination of the Latin word brachium and the Italian word brocco both bringing forth the meaning branch or arm. Broccoli is often referred to as a cruciferous vegetable because of the fact that it often seen having four petals which resemble a cross.
There are references given to a vegetable that well may have been broccoli in the writings of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder and many historians feel that they have recognized it by description in what is referred to as The Cookbook of Apicius.
Broccoli was known and eaten in Italy long before it became known in other countries, at least as far as can be gleaned by researching its history. It was mentioned in some writings from France in 1560, then again in England in 1724 when Phillip Miller, a Scottish botanist, described it in his book Gardener's Dictionary as being what he termed a sprout cauliflower or Italian asparagus.
Thomas Jefferson in some of the writings dated May 27, 1767 ,in his gardening book notes it as one of the items planted at this home at Monticello . In 1775, another American, John Randolph described it in his writing, titled A Treatise on Gardening by a Citizen of Virginia, as being a sort of a combination of asparagus and cauliflower. He stated, "The stems will eat like asparagus and the heads like cauliflower."
Broccoli was not seen as a commercial product in the United States until 1922, when the D'Amigo brothers introduced it under their brand name Andy Boy .
Broccoli is considered a prime source of vitamin C, iron and potassium.
Some medical doctors and other professional health care experts who are associated with the National Cancer Institute, have stated that clinical studies seem to indicate that broccoli, along with other members of the cruciferous family, may be able to be used as an important part in the fight against certain kinds of cancer.
Studies seem also to point towards broccoli as being a major component in the fight against diabetes. Chromium, a trace element found in broccoli, may play an important role in the fight against certain types of adult diabetes. Dr. Richard Anderson, a diabetes expert who works at the Beltsville, Maryland , Human Research Laboratories of the U.S. Department of Agriculture , has stated that he feels that clinical studies have indicated that the chromium found in broccoli boosts the effectiveness of insulin to assist in the fight against diabetes in the bodies of people with slight glucose intolerance.
