All in the family: Broccoli and its many cousins

While a versatile, heavy hitter veggie — suitable for stir fry, crudités, soup and everything in between — broccoli isn’t the only cruciferous vegetable you can get shoppers to grab from the wet rack and toss into the grocery cart for dinner.

Far from it. Produce managers and merchandisers can build gorgeous displays by adding some of broccoli’s more exotic cousins. Enter broccolini, romanesco, broccoli rabe and cauliflower to complement the merchandising of broccoli stalks, crowns and bags of pre-cut florets. Cruising by the brassicas, if you’re ever scratching your head wondering what’s cozied up next to the broccoli, we’ve got the lowdown. 

Broccoli rabe

Also known as rapini, this leafy green plant packs a bitter punch. And while it looks like a leafier, baby broccoli, it’s in fact a brassica plant that’s more closely related to mustard greens or turnips. All parts of the broccoli rabe—the leaves, buds and stems—can be eaten when the plant is young. Rapini’s sharp, bitter flavor means it pairs well with decadent, creamy pastas and rich Italian dishes.

Broccolini

While these leafy broccoli bunches look more akin to broccoli rabe, broccolini tastes more like an earthy broccoli plant than the bitter rapini. But don’t be mistaken: Broccolini isn’t immature broccoli. It’s not baby or teenager broccoli.

Broccolini is a cross-bred variety of broccoli and Chinese broccoli, also known as gai lan orjie lan. Capturing the best of both worlds, broccolini offers crunchy florets along with willowy, edible stems and leaves and a mild, sweet flavor.

Romanesco

Don’t leave behind one of the wildest brassicas! With the appearance of a pointy, chartreuse cauliflower, romanesco is sometimes called romanesco broccoli or broccoflower, but it’s a cruciferous vegetable in its own right. Romanesco offers a nuttier flavor than broccoli and a similar texture to cauliflower. It can be used interchangeably in recipes with both. What’s more, the vibrant lime-colored crowns can enliven even the drabbest merchandising sets.

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Cauliflower

Once slighted, this cousin of broccoli has now been enjoying its day in the sun, especially with the popularity of low-carb and plant-based eating lifestyles. Product merchandising can include pre-cut florets all the way to bags of cauliflower rice for this produce chameleon. Place heads of this creamy white vegetable strategically in wet rack displays for an inviting color break from the vast sea of green.