Is any variety suitable for salad?
Cauliflower has a very delicate texture,consisting of a set of inflorescences tightly pressed against each other, so it can be stored in the fridge for a little more than a week. Depending on the variety of inflorescence are white, ivory, yellowish and even purple. They are all suitable for making salads, and the color in no way will have a negative effect on the taste of the final dish. Buying cabbage on the market, it is much more important to pay attention to the external data of the plug, which should have a uniform color without darkening, and their presence indicates the beginning of the rotting process. It is good if the fork is elastic and has leaves at the base. They immediately show whether a fresh vegetable or not. Frost perfectly preserves all the useful properties of cauliflower. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to grow it on the plot, you can divide the cabbage into inflorescences and freeze it. Then it will be possible all winter to eat a useful salad without fear for the quality of the main ingredient. 
Preparation of the product with maximum preservation of useful properties
Benefits for the sake of small inflorescences of freshly cutcauliflower is eaten raw. They are suitable for decorating a salad. More often, however, cauliflower undergoes heat treatment - this is the first thing that is done with it before you start cooking a particular salad. But it is important to know how to boil cabbage so that all vitamins, micro- and macronutrients, as well as useful acids: pantothenic, lemon, apple, folic, are preserved in it. The superiority of cauliflower before white-headed is that it contains much more protein, ascorbic acid, and there is a full composition of vitamins of groups B, A, D, E, K, PP and many others. The participation of cauliflower in many dishes of the dietary menu is explained by its low caloric content (21 kcal per 100 g of product) and the content of tartronic acid (the "blocker" of fats). And indole-3-carbinol - an indispensable participant in the development of the female hormone - estrogen. But this does not mean that cauliflower is of little use for men, because it has a beneficial effect on potency. Regardless of the sex of a person, it helps to remove harmful cholesterol from the body and strengthen the blood vessels. Nutritionists recommend cauliflower with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach ulcer, liver and gallbladder diseases. To keep all the vitamins in cauliflower, it is better to cook it for a couple, previously divided into inflorescences. If you intend to use the entire inflorescence, then the stiff petioles should be shortened, leaving the inflorescences on a short stalk. In some salads cabbage is cut into cubes, then you can cut everything, and stalks too. Digestion of the vegetable will affect its taste qualities, and outwardly it will become unattractive. Therefore, the cooking time varies from 5 to 20 minutes. This range depends on the size of the inflorescences and whether the cabbage is prepared fresh or frozen. As a rule, frozen takes more time. The maximum amount of fiber remains with 5-minute cooking. Do not pour too much water. The main thing is that the cabbage is covered with liquid. To maintain the original color, you need to cook on high heat with the lid open. Water is preliminarily salted, and the cabbage is loaded into boiling water. The preservation of color contributes to the addition of citric acid. This can be done before cooking, soak cabbage in cold acidified water, or add lemon juice directly into boiling water. For the same purpose, cauliflower is boiled with sugar, and only then it is lowered into cold water with citric acid. Depending on the recipe for the future salad, you can acidify the water and vinegar. Some cooks prefer to boil it in mineral water to enhance taste. There are many methods of heat treatment, and each of them uses the method of sampling, taking into account the taste preferences of the household. No matter how the cabbage was cooked, it should not be left for a long time in the broth, otherwise it will lose its taste qualities. 
Fresh Cauliflower Salad
Cauliflower was hard enough to take root inRussia, since this heat-loving culture required a special approach in agricultural technology. Culinary traditions for a long time "did not let her" at the table, regardless of the fact that this type of cabbage is perfectly combined with any products, be it vegetables, eggs or meat. Therefore, salad recipes from fresh cauliflower still remain a rarity. But the use of a vegetable is worth it to try. After experimenting with the composition of the salad, everyone will find a favorite recipe. Usually, for this salad, separated and washed cauliflower cauldrons are placed in a salad bowl, and greens, fresh cucumber, chopped carrot, Bulgarian pepper and a few cloves of garlic are added to them. You can fill with mayonnaise, and for those who are on a diet, it's better to have low-fat sour cream. It is not forbidden to mix cauliflower simply with cucumbers and tomatoes. You can prepare a more nutritious and fatty salad according to the following recipe:
- cauliflower (250 grams);
- champignons boiled or stewed (250 gr.);
- Bulgarian pepper, chopped straw (1 pc.);
- eggs, hard-boiled (3 pieces);
- kidney beans (2 tablespoons).
All ingredients are mixed and refueledmayonnaise. Salad is healthy and nutritious, but absolutely not suitable for dietary nutrition, both in order to reduce weight, and in diseases of the pancreas, since fungi belong to heavy food. The simplest salad recipe from fresh cauliflower is a shredded fork, filled with sauce from sour cream and garlic. Add black spices to the dish. I must say that this salad can be prepared with any sauce you like. So, recipes from raw cabbage are very popular with sauce from sour cream and soy sauce in a ratio of 2: 1, to which is added mustard seed (1 tsp) and greens (dill, parsley, green onion, coriander). This sauce can be simply poured on a portion of cauliflower, and you can fill a salad of several ingredients (cabbage, tomatoes, chopped garlic, cheese of hard varieties). In this salad are good and olives. Only the masters of their business warn that garlic should be finely chopped, and not using garlic.
Culinary fantasies
As already mentioned above, cauliflower is nothas the boundaries of product compatibility. Therefore, recipes for dishes, and salads in particular, a great variety. In addition, there is a hope to invent something new to your taste. Those ingredients that have already been mentioned in fresh cabbage salad can be successfully used with boiled: greens, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, olives, garlic, mayonnaise. Sometimes all this is added to the boiled poultry meat, which makes the dish more nutritious. Strict proportions of products do not exist. As a rule, the hostess tries to simply use the whole fork of cauliflower so that it does not deteriorate. On average, it weighs 500 grams, so you can put it all in a salad or divide into 2 dishes. A simple salad with a piquant taste is obtained by the following recipe:
- boiled cauliflower (300 gr.);
- fresh apricots (4 pcs.);
- greenery;
- sauce from mayonnaise and thick cream (2: 1);
- salt and black pepper.
All the ingredients are mixed and pouredreceived sauce. Of the apricots, the bones are removed beforehand, and the fruits are arbitrarily cut into small pieces. Perfectly combines colorful boiled cabbage with salad greens, tomato and green peas, dressed with sour cream and salt. This dietary recipe, and lovers of experimentation and sweet taste add to all of the above berries grapes, plums or apple slices. But many, on the contrary, prefer sharp variants of dishes from cauliflower. Yes, and the aforementioned salad refers to seasonal treats, when fresh fruit is on sale, but a salad with carrots and black radish can be cooked in winter, if you stock up for color cabbage. Although fresh greens in this recipe is still present. So, for cooking, you need 0.5 kg of boiled cabbage, 1 pc. medium-sized carrots and black radishes. Radish and carrots are shredded on a grater intended for preparation of Korean carrots, straw. Then mix, salivate and infuse for 15-20 minutes, until juice is allowed. Then they are mixed with prepared cauliflower and seasoned with herbs and a mixture of seasonings: paprika, black and red peppers, ground coriander, salt. The recipe does not use sauce, you only need to sprinkle with lemon juice. Some housewives prefer to add sugar to the salad (1 tablespoon). You can cook a spicy dish using any Korean recipe. For those who have ever made salad in Korean from carrots, it will not be difficult. Carrots rub with carrots (300 gr.), Rubbed with salt and left for a while. Then boiled cauliflower (0, 5 kg) and asparagus beans (200 gr.). On vegetable oil, the onion and Bulgarian pepper are fried until transparent. Combine and mix cabbage, carrots and beans with the addition of vinegar (3% - 3 tablespoons), sprinkled with a mixture of peppers, coriander and poured hot roast. All should be well mixed and left for marinating for at least 30-40 minutes. If desired, the recipe can include fresh cucumbers, cut into half rings or blocks. You can replace them with beans. Cauliflower can be combined with walnuts, shrimps, boiled fish, ham, corn, banana, raisins, pickled cucumbers and tomato sauce. Fantasy can be limited only by a contraindication to a product for health reasons or high caloric content of ingredients, which is undesirable for losing weight.
Tips from cooking professionals
Recipes of salads from cauliflower, whereA large amount of spicy seasonings is used for an amateur. Experienced cooks still agree that this vegetable does not tolerate ingredients with burning taste and excessively rich aroma, and when the salad is seasoned with ground pepper, the proportion of red sweet pepper always exceeds the burning species. Lemon, saffron, parsley or celery are the most common ingredients involved in the preparation of salad from cauliflower. Of the sauces, varieties of vegetable-cream fillings with eggs and cheese are most often used, which helps to soften the taste when there are sharp seasonings. For holiday salads, it is best to use only the tops of the inflorescences, and the coarser rootlets and water left from cooking cabbage can be used in diet soups. Thus, you can cook two dishes at once.
