For several centuries in a row, only the inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula, where it came from, knew about broccoli, or asparagus cabbage, until its fate was in the hands of the most powerful woman in Europe in the 16th century – Queen of France Catherine de Medici. Two Italian women (Medici was born in Florence) were destined to meet, and after this meeting the triumphant march of broccoli across the planet began.

The Italian roots of broccoli go straight back to prehistoric times. The first mention of it dates back to the 5th century BC. e. – the ancient Roman writer-erudite Pliny the Elder described this cabbage species as a “blessed plant.” The Italians gave it the sonorous name “broccolo,” which translated means “flowering stalk of cabbage,” but the native Romans corrected it with an elegant “and” at the end of the word. The simple Italian saying “Oggi e domani broccoli” (“Today and tomorrow broccoli”) is quite justified – Italians practice the Mediterranean diet