Fact sheet
The Romanesco cauliflower (family: crucifer) is an "inflorescence" made up of a group of tightly packed "florets" forming an "apple". These florets are not suited to the plant's sexual reproduction, but are however edible. The apple, being rich in chlorophyll due to the fan-shaped arrangement of its leaves (or ribs) is naturally green, thereby encouraging its sunlighting. The florets have the particularity of being conical, thus giving the vegetable its characteristic appearance, wholly natural and not the result of genetic manipulations.

Its shape is a perfect illustration of the mathematical principle of fractals; a fractal being an object presenting self-similarity. In this case, all florets are identical to one another even though the size may change, and if each one were magnified, it would be an exact replica of a Romanesco cauliflower. Another mathematical curiosity: the florets grow in a spiral, one after another, according to a rhythm called the Fibonacci series, following the famous golden number, origin of all aesthetic harmony according to the Renaissance artists...
There is a mini Romanesco as well (6 cm in diameter), which is also much appreciated.

Production and consumption
The Romanesco cauliflower is cultivated as two main varieties, the "Minaret", very rich in chlorophyll, and the "Navona". It has been grown mainly in Brittany since the 1990s, especially at Saint-Pol-de-Léon (80%) and Paimpol (20%) which have a mild oceanic climate, and in Normandy in lesser volumes. Marketing really began in 1993 on the fresh produce market, before the quick-freeze industry started to take an interest.

The Romanesco cauliflower has returned to the fresh produce market and production exceeds 2,000 metric tons (i.e. 3 million heads but only 0.4% of total cauliflower production). Present on the stalls from August to mid-December, the French Romanesco is replaced by Spanish and Italian produce from January to April. Lighter than the regular cauliflower (it weighs between 0.8 kg and 1 kg), the Romanesco is more attractive from a taste and nutritional point of view.
(source: Interfel/Aprifel, Ctifl (Inter -professional Technical Centre for Fruits and Vegetables); Prince de Bretagne)

At Rungis Market
According to Mr. José Nunes, sales agent for the company Cruchaudet Granjean SA, "The Romanesco cauliflower is a quality product, with a fine taste but which remains a product that is still mainly sought after by connoisseurs. It only appeared for sale a few years ago, is still little known and therefore rarely eaten …The sales period for French Romanesco lies between September and the end of December, followed by the Spanish and Italian product. We sell about twenty packages per day to top-of-the-range fruit retailers…".

Sales Manager for the company Maillard Rouelle et Cie, Mr. Jean-Claude Estirach considers that "The Romanesco is a product that is becoming steadily more popular with consumers despite being little known. We sell one good pallet per day, 99% of which is the French product and 1% the Spanish product, to our customers in the fruit retail business. Regarding the French products, our volumes are evenly distributed between the Brittany and Normandy produce. The French product is available between October and December, with peaks in November and December. Properly cooked, a Romanesco should be 'al dente'…".