I’ve been trying to get more veggies, for a multitude of reasons, but no matter how I cook broccoli, it stinks up the whole house. Steamed, baked, pan fried. If it were just me I’d probably deal with it, but my partner has a sensitive nose. Any ideas? I don’t love it raw, but it’s still pretty good.
Where do you live that broccoli smells like anything unappetizing? This is absolutely insane. Maybe wash your vegetables before cooking them?
Smells fine raw, just makes a stink when I cook it. Already washed. Also KY US
KY US
there’s your problem.
But in all seriousness—broccoli shouldn’t be stinking up your house. I call shenanigans.
I mean the rest of the thread corroborates 🤷 not sure what else to say.
First result in google:
The sulforaphane compound in some cruciferous vegetable molecules. The sulfur odor indicates a vegetable possesses excellent health properties. Cruciferous (fibrous) veggies include kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and many others.
This is far too serious an issue to invoke shenanigans!
Don’t waste your time responding to idiots.
To be honest, I thought they were going more for sarcasm than idiocy 🤷
Idk about that lol. Maybe. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. They seemed serious though but who knows.
When I googled “broccoli smell” every single result stated “you’re overcooking it” so I guess that’s what you’re doing. I have literally never experienced this so I guess I win at cooking broccoli.
Thus I rescind my suspicion of shenanigans and submit instead INCOMPETENCE
I’ll take incompetence. Far more likely to be a true accusation
Fascinating thread. Is there some genetic component that makes broccoli stinky to some people and not others? Is this why some people are averse to broccoli? I’m surprised to see everyone just accepting the premise of the question. I love boiling broccoli precisely because it smells amazing.
I’ve also wondered if there’s varieties. Maybe where I live, they’re different tasting and smelling? Broccoli has only ever been one of the vegetables to me. Nothing repulsive (or even noteworthy).
Even as a kid it was weird to see cartoon characters complain about specifically broccoli while I literally munched it while watching.
Now when it spoils, yes, it can get a little sulfury, as can cauliflower, its cousin. But fresh broccoli?
I wonder if it’s similar to those that think cilantro tastes like soap.
Was thinking the same
Have you tried blanching? I never noticed a strong smell that way.
Not yet, will consider and research
Baked didn’t work?
We do that as the default, and the smell is never there.
Here’s our process.
First, defrost if frozen. Otherwise you’re essentially steaming it as it thaws in the oven, which means that instead of browning up and getting sweeter, you end up with the sulfur compounds forming before that can happen.
If not frozen, you should be fine to start.
If you’re working from whole heads of broccoli, break it down into roughly even sized florettes, with the stems being cut down to maybe a half inch or so.
Make sure it’s well oiled. It helps the heat transfer, which reduces the end smell. A big bowl helps get it evenk drizzling really isn’t great for roast veggies imo.
Season after oiling; the salt, pepper and optionals will stick better and not burn. Now, here’s an optional, but it really is highly recommended. Acid. Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white wine or champagne vinegar, even balsamic. It helps break up the chemicals as they form and get released. Sliced lemons work too, though definitely keep the juices and add them too.
Preheat to 400 or 425. No lower, you want the heat to be high enough that it cooks fast, fifteen to twenty minutes, checking at 15 and staying close after. If you have a convection oven, go with 400 for sure, and check at about 12 minutes and keep a close eye on it.
You want the broccoli browned, and fork tender. Once it hits that, pull it.
Over cooking is where the smell comes from. So if you get the first hint of that sulfur smell, pull it immediately, even if it isn’t done, since you don’t want the smell. Carry over cooking can finish the job, it just won’t be as yummy without that deep browning.
Roasting is the least “smelly” option.
Steaming, the window is short between perfectly cooked and smelly. Maybe as little as a minute. Lots of lemon slices over the top helps though.
Boiling, you gotta parboil, blanche, then repeat. It keeps the sulfur compounds from taking over before it’s cooked through.
Deep fried works, but it really seems like a bad idea to me. Why eat something as healthy as broccoli and dump it into hot oil? It adds unnecessary calories even if you drain it well, and breaded broccoli ia similar, plus you don’t taste the broccoli as much.
This is exactly how we roast our broccoli too. It’s excellent.
This homie broccolis
This is all awesome, thank you.
No worries :)
I’ve never noticed a bad smell, but instant pot for 1 minute high pressure is quickest way to cook.
Oooo I like this. How much water? Okay for it to sit in the water, or does it have to be up?
Man, I used broccoli all the time. Just chuck it in the over for a bit, or stir fry it. No stink, delicious, crisp, bright, crunchy.
These days I don’t cook as often and people who do just insist on boiling it or steaming it into mush, which is like dropping a stink bomb in the kitchen and turns it into puree. Broccoli is meant to be green, not brown, you guys.
On the plus side you can recycle that absolutely gross overdone broccoli into vegan burger patties and it’s actually good like that. Still, you have to get through the stinkbomb part first.
How the fuck so you get brown broccoli from boiling it? Mines boiled and while it isn’t always snappable, it’s definitely always a vibrant green.
Bro for real, never seen anything but it gets greener from boiling
The answer is patience.
And no, it’s not.
I know, I’m horrified by this, too.
I love it in the air fryer, similar to baked broccoli, just a bit more crispy
Do you have to oil it? I’d like to avoid that wherever possible.
Air fryer broccoli is best broccoli
Outside on the BBQ lol
Deep fried in tempura.
This is the single best answer if it needs to be cooked.
Frozen broccoli on baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and seasoning ( I like to use Montreal steak)
425° for 25 minutes
Stir halfway through cooking. It’s easy, no smell, and easy to remember bc 425 twice. (425 ° for 25 minutes)
I hope that’s Fahrenheit…
I hope that’s Fahrenheit…
Lol yes. We are weird in America
For real, F makes no sense for cooking. I can get the argument for outside temps, but I’ll pick metric over imperial any day
I get it, but it’s what all our ovens and recipes say here. Even if there’s a way to change it on the oven, the recipes are still going to be in F, and then you’re going to have to do a bunch of conversions, so doesn’t make much sense here.
Plus, God King Trump said that the metric system is woke DEI
Broccoli is probably the least offensive of the Brassicas but they all stink when cooking. Baking in a casserole or something that covers the broccoli completely might work. I imagine the only stink free way would be raw or possibly suis vide.
Just the fan over the stove?
Lawl, ours doesn’t vent outside, just has a filter then pumps it out the top
So… How often do you have to change the filter?
It also does basically nothing. I’ll watch the steam go anywhere but the fan as it rises.
What’s wrong with your windows.
Well, privacy violations, a memory intensive OS without much benefit, decades old code that should be cleaned up.
…oh, you mean sliding glass panes in the home.
Well it was 12⁰ the other day…
You mean Fahrenheit right?
Yeah
Broccoli is great raw, why cook it?
Because it’s good raw but it’s fantastic roasted.
Honestly, broccoli is wonderful microwaved. Put it in a covered dish with just a little water. For a couple servings, I do on high like 2.5 minutes. Easy to adjust the time to get it just the way you want it. You can’t get it crispy that way, but it’s basically like perfectly steamed.
