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To Cook Cauliflower

Boiled cauliflower seasoned with salt, served with gravy or melted butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Cook Cauliflower

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the cauliflower, separating the florets from the leaves.

  2. Soak the cauliflower in salt water for a while.

Boil and serve

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a handful of salt.

  2. Place the cauliflower in the boiling water, keeping the pot uncovered.

  3. Boil a small cauliflower for about 15 minutes and a large one for about 20 minutes.

  4. Check for doneness by inserting a fork into the stem; remove it as soon as it is tender.

  5. Serve with gravy or melted butter.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Cauliflower
Forms the main body of the dish and becomes tender as it cooks in boiling water.

The step that matters

Checking doneness by fork. Cauliflower keeps softening after it becomes tender, so overcooking turns it mushy and waterlogged. Testing the thick stem with a fork and removing it promptly keeps the florets firm yet tender.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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