{{short description|Vegetable}} {{Other uses|Broccolini (surname)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Cultivarbox | name = Broccolini | image = Broccolini.jpg | image_caption = | species = ''Brassica oleracea'' | hybrid = ''B. o.'' var. ''italica'' (broccoli) × ''B. o.'' var. ''alboglabra'' (gai lan) }} thumb|US Broccolini thumb|Broccolini dressed with sesame sauce
'''Broccolini''', '''Aspabroc''', '''Bimi''', '''baby broccoli''' or '''tenderstem broccoli''', is a green vegetable similar to broccoli but with smaller florets and longer, thin stalks. It is a hybrid of broccoli and gai lan (which is sometimes referred to as "Chinese kale" or "Chinese broccoli"), both of them cultivar groups of ''Brassica oleracea''. In the United States, the name ''Broccolini'' is a registered trademark of Mann Packing.<ref>{{cite web |title=Broccolini (Reg. No. 2365625) |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75446875&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office}}</ref>
== History == Broccolini was originally developed over eight years<ref>{{Cite news |last=Petusevsky |first=Steve |date=12 August 1999 |title=Broccolini An Exciting New Hybrid |work=Sun-Sentinel |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-09-15-9909150014-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630201603/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1999-08-12-9908120300-story.html |archive-date=30 June 2021}}</ref> by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan, as a hybrid of broccoli and gai lan, rather than as the product of genetic modification.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sakatavegetables.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/homegrownarticles.detail/articleID/24/index.htm|title=Sakata Home Grown Presents: Broccolini Ideas|date=1 January 2013|website=Sakata Vegetables|access-date=22 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412145316/http://www.sakatavegetables.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/homegrownarticles.detail/articleID/24/index.htm|archive-date=12 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was developed to create a milder-tasting vegetable which could grow in hotter climates than broccoli, to expand Sakata's broccoli market.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Livingston |first=Thomas |date=Summer 2010 |title=Broccolini®: What's in a Name? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2010.10.3.89 |journal=Gastronomica |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=89–92 |doi=10.1525/gfc.2010.10.3.89|jstor=10.1525/gfc.2010.10.3.89 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Martínez-Hernández |first1=Ginés Benito |last2=Gómez |first2=Perla A |last3=Artés |first3=Francisco |last4=Artés-Hernández |first4=Francisco |date=January 2015 |title=Nutritional quality changes throughout shelf-life of fresh-cut kailan-hybrid and 'Parthenon' broccoli as affected by temperature and atmosphere composition |journal=Food Science and Technology International |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=15 |doi=10.1177/1082013213502352|pmid=24045885 |s2cid=558776 }}</ref>
Sakata partnered with Sanbon Incorporated in 1994 to begin growing the product commercially in Mexico under the name Asparation, implying a similarity to asparagus due to its slim, edible stem. After first becoming available in US markets in 1996, in 1998, Sakata began a partnership with Mann Packing Company in Salinas, California, and marketed the product as Broccolini.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Vegetable Research and Extension: Broccolini |url=http://agsyst.wsu.edu/Broccolini.html |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=Washington State University}}</ref> New forms of Broccolini continue to be developed, including purple broccolini.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yagoshi |first=Tsunehiro |date=2017 |title=Purple baby broccoli |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20170071147?oq=US+2017%2f0071147+Al. |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=Google Patents}}</ref>
== Description == Broccolini has a structure similar to sprouting-type broccoli. It grows to {{convert|80|cm|abbr=on}}, with a slender elongated stem that is {{convert|15|–|30|cm|abbr=on}} long. It is annual or biennial, herbaceous, and glabrous.<ref name=":2" />
== Culinary use== {{Cookbook}} The entire vegetable (leaves, young stems, unopened flower shoots, and flowers) is edible. Its flavor is sweet, with notes of both broccoli and asparagus,<ref name="asahi.com">{{cite web |author= |date=12 November 2008 |title=ブロッコリー物語 |url=http://globe.asahi.com/feature/081103/side/04.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229092830/http://globe.asahi.com/feature/081103/side/04.html |archive-date=29 December 2016 |access-date=1 November 2022 |work=The Asahi Shimbun}}</ref> although it is not closely related to the latter.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=O'Neill |first=Molly |date=10 June 1998 |title=Broccoli's Short, Sweet Cousin |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/10/dining/broccoli-s-short-sweet-cousin.html |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>
Common cooking methods include sautéing, steaming, boiling, and stir frying. According to a 2005 study assessing how Australians cooked broccolini, the majority used steaming, with fewer choosing stir-frying, and a small minority ate it raw or in a salad.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Piccone |first1=Marie |date=August 2005 |title=Understanding the retail performance of broccolini using a tool for determining in-store performance and customer demand. |url=http://ausveg.com.au/intranet/technical-insights/docs/VG03100.pdf |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=AusVeg |publisher=Horticulture Australia Ltd}}</ref>
=== Nutrition === Broccolini is a source of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K, folate and glucosinolates.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reinagel |first1=Monica |title=Broccolini vs. Broccoli |url=http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/broccolini-vs-broccoli |website=QuickandDirtyTips.com |access-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930162100/http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/broccolini-vs-broccoli |archive-date=30 September 2015 |date=27 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Pingping |last2=Zhang |first2=Ting |last3=Guo |first3=Xiaolei |last4=Ma |first4=Chungwah |last5=Zhang |first5=Xuewu |date=3 March 2015 |title=Purification, characterization, and biological activities of broccolini lectin |url=https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/btpr.2070 |journal=Biotechnology Progress |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=736–743 |doi=10.1002/btpr.2070|pmid=25737003 |s2cid=26104159 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Broccolini contains a profile of phenolic acids similar to other vegetables in the Brassica family, most notably containing flavonoids.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Llorent-Martínez |first1=E J |last2=Ortega-Vidal |first2=J |last3=Ruiz-Riaguas |first3=A |last4=Ortega-Barrales |first4=P |last5=Fernández-de Córdova |first5=M L |date=March 2020 |title=Comparative study of the phytochemical and mineral composition of fresh and cooked broccolini |journal=Food Research International |volume=129 |article-number=108798 |doi=10.1016/j.foodres.2019.108798|pmid=32036908 |s2cid=211072919 }}</ref> Research into flavonoids in broccolini leaves has suggested they can inhibit the growth of some cancers. Such research has found that common cooking methods reduce broccolini's phenolic acid content, particularly boiling.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Bingfang |last2=Zhang |first2=Xuewu |date=Jan–Feb 2012 |title=Inhibitory effects of Broccolini leaf flavonoids on human cancer cells |journal=Scanning |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1002/sca.20278|pmid=22532078 }}</ref>
==Production==
=== Climate === Broccolini grows in cool climates and is intolerant of extreme climates. It is more sensitive to cold temperatures than broccoli is but less sensitive to hot temperatures.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Lim |first=T. K. |title=Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants: Volume 7, Flowers |publisher=Springer |year=2014 |isbn=978-94-007-7394-3 |edition= |pages=625}}</ref>
===Growth and distribution=== Broccolini takes 50–60 days to grow after being transplanted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aspabroc (Hybrid) |url=https://sakatahomegrown.com/homegrown/aspabroc/ |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=Sakata Home Grown}}</ref> It is harvested once the heads are fully developed but are not flowering. By cutting off the head, the harvest time is extended as new side shoots of smaller heads will grow.<ref name=":3" /> Unlike other cruciferous vegetables, which are harvested once per growth cycle, broccolini is harvested 3 to 5 times in a growth cycle, depending on growing conditions.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rivera-Martin |first1=Angelica |last2=Broadley |first2=Martin R. |last3=Pobliaciones |first3=Maria J. |date=2020 |title=Soil and foliar zinc biofortification of broccolini: effects on plant growth and mineral accumulation |url=https://bioone.org/journals/crop-and-pasture-science/volume-71/issue-5/CP19474/Soil-and-foliar-zinc-biofortification-of-broccolini--effects-on/10.1071/CP19474. |journal=Crop and Pasture Science |volume=71 |issue=5 |pages=484 |doi=10.1071/CP19474|s2cid=218972890 }}</ref> Further unlike broccoli, the stalk is inedible; rather, the side shoots are harvested and consumed.<ref name=":0" />
After being harvested, the produce is cooled to {{Convert|0|C}}, preventing the flower heads developing to maintain quality.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.freshplease.com.au/fresh-vegetables/category/baby-broccoli-broccolini|title=Baby Broccoli (Broccolini)|website=Fresh Please|access-date=5 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321223655/http://www.freshplease.com.au/fresh-vegetables/category/baby-broccoli-broccolini|archive-date=21 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shelf life can be further extended with the use of modified atmosphere packaging.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Martínez-Hernández |first1=Ginés Benito |last2=Artés-Hernández |first2=Francisco |last3=Gómez |first3=Perla A. |last4=Artés |first4=Francisco |date=January 2013 |title=Comparative behaviour between kailan-hybrid and conventional fresh-cut broccoli throughout shelf-life |journal=LWT - Food Science and Technology |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=298 |doi=10.1016/j.lwt.2012.05.010|doi-access=free }}</ref>
In the United States, broccolini is grown in California during the summer and in Arizona during the winter.<ref name=":1" />
===Produce reference=== The International Federation for Produce Standards assigns it the price look-up code 3277, "baby broccoli".<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 1999 |title=Broccoli (3277) |url=https://check.ifpsglobal.com/widget/277?token=4ZYrVflLPK6p&lang= |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=International Federation for Product Standards}}</ref> It is also known as ''asparation'', ''asparations'', "sweet baby broccoli", ''broccoletti'', and ''broccolette'' "Italian sprouting broccoli". It is sold under the registered trademarks Bimi and Tenderstem.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Bimi® Broccoli |url=https://www.bimibroccoli.co.uk/about |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=Bimi®}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Tenderstem® broccoli |url=https://www.tenderstem.co.uk/about-tenderstem |access-date=1 November 2022 |website=Tenderstem®}}</ref>
==See also== *Rapini
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Brassica oleraca}}
Category:Brassica oleracea Category:Inflorescence vegetables