How To Cut Cauliflower | Gimme Some Oven

Here’s a quick step-by-step video tutorial for how to cut cauliflower! Plus, tips on how to select, store, and cook with a head of fresh cauliflower.

While I’m away from my kitchen this week during our honeymoon down in delicious Mexico, I thought I’d share a quick new ingredient How-To Tuesday video tutorial with you in my absence. It’s one that has been requested by many of you, and happens to be a favorite of mine…

…how to cut cauliflower!

It’s no secret that this once-boring cruciferous vegetable has made a majorly delicious comeback in the past few years, especially as everyone has discovered how delicious it can be when roasted, or mashed, or grilled, or riced, or hashed, or cut into “steaks” or pureed into soups. Or — perhaps most popular with my friends who are parents — snuck into any number of creamy sauces or tots or mashes or anything “creamy” or “cheesy”. Seriously, the options for cauliflower nowadays seem practically limitless, and increasingly delicious. ?

But, similar to broccoli, it can be a little intimidating to try cutting into an entire head of cauliflower. So for any of you first-timers, here’s a quick tutorial for my favorite way to do it! Plus lots of tips for how to select and store fresh cauliflower, and what to make with it.

HOW TO CUT A HEAD OF CAULIFLOWER:

Here is my favorite method for how to cut into a full head of cauliflower, how to separate out the florets, and trim them into your desired shape/size.

HOW TO SELECT FRESH CAULIFLOWER:

In general, you want to look for cauliflower at the market that:

are bright white or creamy white (if choosing a white variety of cauliflower), with minimal sunburned or wet “spots”
are uniformly colored (if choosing a green, purple or orange variety of cauliflower)
has firm and densely-packed florets (not soft)
has leaves that are green and crisp and fresh (not wilted)

HOW TO STORE FRESH CAULIFLOWER:

Most stores sell fresh heads of cauliflower tighly wrapped in plastic. I recommend removing the plastic once you come home, then wrapping the cauliflower loosely in a paper towel or two, and then storing it in the refrigerator in a loosely-wrapped plastic bag for 4-7 days.