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Do you know the broccoli of Bassano? Bassano broccoli is actually a cauliflower with a smaller shape than the more common cauliflowers. Cooking it does not give off any bad smells.
It is very tender, buttery and sweet. It is eaten both its flower (the inflorescence with a white-yellowish color) and its more tender green inner leaves.
It is a vegetable characteristic of the areas of Bassano del Grappa, in the province of Vicenza, famous in the gastronomic sector for products such as asparagus and pink onions.
The broccoli of Bassano is a typical vegetable of the areas between Pove, Bassano and Rosà, which has adapted perfectly to the territory and the climate of these areas.
Cultivated in this area for centuries, this particular vegetable has three varieties, which are classified according to the time of year in which they are harvested: the bonorivo, which grows earlier than the others and is in fact harvested in January, the mid-season and, finally, the late season. The broccoli of Bassano has gained notoriety since some years and more and more chefs want to include it in their dishes because of its unique taste.
It is thought that this vegetable is related to a famous vegetable characteristic of the Veneto region, the broccolo fiolaro of Creazzo, a quality also esteemed by the writer Goethe. Broccolo fiolaro di Creazzo owes its name to the dialect expression fioi (which means "children" and, in this case, refers to the multiple inflorescences of the stem). It is a vegetable that has been revalued a lot in recent times and has been reinserted in the dishes of Vicenza. The "Sagra del Broccolo Fiolaro di Creazzo" (Festival of the Fiolaro Broccoli of Creazzo) has largely contributed to the rediscovery of this tasty product: the first edition of the festival was held in 2000 and today it records peaks of participation of up to 15,000 people.
