Cauliflower is in reality a flower, as its name implies.

The first reference to cauliflower was found in the writings of Arab Muslim scientists in the 12^th and 13^th centuries. Although this delicious vegetable was very popular in Greece, it was not widely accepted in the rest of Europe until Louis XIV served it in rich, elegant dishes. Cauliflower's introduction to the United States has been fairly recent, and as broccoli, it did not develop commercially until the 1920s.

There are hundreds of historic and current commercial varieties used around the world. Almost all of the Cauliflower in the United States is grown in the Salinas Valley in California, but it can also be found in Arizona, New York, Michigan, Oregon, Florida, Washington, and Texas. You might run into many differently colored cauliflowers:

•          Purple Cauliflower

•          Orange Cauliflower

•          Snowball Cauliflower

•          Candid Charm Cauliflower