Broccoli stalks - is it just me?

[All that jazz]

Is it just me that gets a mini-rage on at the ever increasing length of the stalks on broccoli these days? Even my local greengrocer is at it now. Instead of cutting it under the head they now seem to cut them as close to the stem as they can, leaving you with nearly 1 ft of stalk in the worst cases which quickly sends the price through the roof when you put it on the scales as it's the heaviest part.

Would it be wrong to admit to having used my pen knife to cut off the excess stalk in some supermarkets before now?

[RVVUNM]

My wife always breaks off the excess stalk.

[Sowler]

The stalk raw tastes lovely. Try it!

[Rutter]

I snap it off as my Mrs won't eat the stalk on the florets let alone stalk on the entire thing!

[All that jazz]

Sowler said:

The stalk raw tastes lovely. Try it!

I thought you were trolling, but curiosity got the better of me so I cut a piece. In all honesty I expected it to be vile, but it's an "interesting" taste and not something that I can liken to anything else. It's a bit nothingy, but it's a pleasant texture and in actual fact I don't think it would be too out of place on a salad dish, especially with a bit of mayo or some other garnish. The stalk certainly tastes better raw than it does cooked anyway (the thick stemmy bit). Someone told me that the bulk of good stuff/nutrients are in the stalk but I don't know how true that is.

[mrsshpub]

The stalk's also good in a stir fry — peeled & cut into matchsticks.

[calibrax]

I'd buy the stalks on their own if I could. Best bit of the broccoli.

[anonymous-user]

From an early age, stalk in my house has been called "stump".

On roast dinner days it was a highly prized hors d'oeuvre which my sister and I squabbled over every time (it was always shared equally).

Raw or cooked it is far from disgusting, I quite enjoy it...

Edited by coombsfh on Wednesday 12th December 18:09

[Kneetrembler]

coombsfh said:

From an early age, stalk in my house has been called "stump".

On roast dinner days it was a highly prized hors d'oeuvre which my sister and I squabbled over every time. (it was always shared equally.

Raw or cooked it is far from disgusting, I quite enjoy it...

+ 1 peeled and cooked delicious