Cauliflowers any tips and a bit of help....
 

First time trying Caulis, and been pretty successful so far (taken 3 so
far, (all are Palla di neve(Snowball)).
although:

The first one was pretty good, but not very white,

But the second cauli, the curds were pretty open
(I assumed it was left too long, or perhaps the ground was not firm enough)

Similar problem with the third one (today's one);
But the curds were not as open, however it does have a pretty odd
purple 'furryness' on it. It's not overly thick or pronounced, but looking
closely at it, you can see it.
....does anyone have any idea what it is, and any other tips would be handy
too.

TIA.
--
J.P. in London.

Cauliflowers any tips and a bit of help....
 

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "JP in Lon" contains these words:

First time trying Caulis, and been pretty successful so far (taken 3 so
far, (all are Palla di neve(Snowball)).

...Cut...

To keep the curds white and tight, keep the light off them. I fold two
(growing, attached) cauli leaves so that they cover it, and pin them
together with a stick, like a hatpin.

Yep, I assumed that, and did for a while,
but presumably not long enough (only about a week or so.)

But thanks for the confirmation, I wasn't completely sure.

And they had already lost colour and gone a bit brownish
by the time I had covered them.

The "pretty open" cauli had been left a day or two too long. I find
in this hot summer, that happens much faster than usual.

Ahh. The one I cut today also was a bit open,
but not as much as the previous one.

The purplish bloom (sometimes pinkish) is normal in some types of
cauli when mature heads are exposed to light.. It's just a phase in the
development of the flower and won't affect the taste. Eat it quick.

Many thanks for all that info.

--
J.P. in London.