This is prime cauliflower season, with the best quality, good prices ($2 a head) and great supplies coming in from Salinas and Oxnard. Cauliflower bruises easily, so at the market, gently pick it up by the stem. You’re looking for a head that is tight and heavy for its size.
Cauliflower is really good for you — as long as you go easy on the cheese sauce — and it’s nearly 100 percent edible. Like bok choy, the leaves can be slant-cut and added to your stir-fry. Julienne the stem, then add it to salads or sauteed vegetables. And whatever broccoli can do, cauliflower can do better.
The key to nonmushy cauliflower lies in how you cut it: Break apart the large head into smaller florets. Now take your knife, and starting at the stem end of the floret, slice about halfway down and snap apart. If you cut all the way through the floret, you’re cutting through the cell structure of the curd — and when you cook it, that part will get mushy. Easier still: Place the larger florets on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a little olive oil and roast them.
Michael Marks is the marketing manager for FreshPoint.
In the Bins
Hachiya persimmons
Local farms, San Joaquin Valley
$1.49 to $1.79 each
Tips: Don’t confuse these with flat, crisp Fuyus. The pyramid-shaped Hachiya is extremely astringent. Wait for it to ripen until it is soft, almost like a water balloon, then use it for baking.
Mini-pumpkins
Local farms, San Joaquin Valley
59 to 79 cents each
Tips: These cute pumpkins are not just for decoration. They’re among the best-tasting hard winter squashes.
Satsuma mandarins
Local farms, San Joaquin Valley
$1.69 to $1.99 per pound
Tips: The most famous of the mandarins, the satsuma will get sweeter, more flavorful and more colorful as the season progresses.
