Is an edible green plant in the cabbage family whose large flowering head is eaten as a vegetable.
The word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means “the flowering crest of a cabbage”, and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning “small nail” or “sprout”. Broccoli is often boiled or steamed but may be eaten raw.
Broccoli has large flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick, edible stalk.
A 100 gram serving of raw broccoli provides 34 kcal and is an excellent source (20% or higher of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C and vitamin K. Raw broccoli also contains moderate amounts (10–19% DV) of several B vitamins and the dietary mineral manganese, whereas other essential nutrients are in low content. Broccoli has low content of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and dietary fiber.
Broccoli also contains the carotenoid compounds lutein and zeaxanthin in amounts about 6 times lower than in kale.
