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It is Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower Season The cooler weather of fall promotes the best growth of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower - crops that are not only "Simply Delicious" but also "Simply Nutritious". Cabbage is grown on about 1,200 acres in Pennsylvania, ranking the state twelveth in the nation. Roughly 180 acres of broccoli and 100 acres of cauliflower, mostly in small acreages, are grown across the state. The harvest of these three cabbage family crops is well underway and will continue until winter sets in. 
Home-grown Pennsylvania broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are all nutritional heavyweights. With high amounts of vitamin A, Vitamin C and dietary fiber plus cancer-fighting indole compounds, broccoli is truly a nutritional superstar. Cabbage and cauliflower also are high in vitamin C and fiber as well as the cancer-fighting indole compounds. These members of the cabbage family have been linked to decreases in cholesterol levels, blood pressure, peptic ulcers and various kinds of cancer as well as to increases in mental sharpness. The cabbage family is also known as the Cruciferae family because their flowers are shaped like a cross. According to the Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition of the University of California at Berkeley, cruciferous vegetables contain indoles -- nitrogen compounds -- that seem to protect against cancers of the stomach and large intestine. They also are generally high in fiber and antioxidants like vitamin C and carotenoids. Antioxidants neutralize the action of free radicals -- unstable oxygen molecules -- which promote cancer. Cruciferous vegetables also contain compounds that stimulate the release of anticancer enzymes. Click here to read more.2011 Vegetable Recipe Contest Statewide Cook-off Results
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For Simply Delicious, Simply Nutritious Pennsylvania Vegetable Recipes, 
Pennsylvania Vegetable Marketing and Research Program
