The History of Broccolini

Broccolini has surprisingly modern origins. In fact, it was created in Japan through careful crossbreeding and hand-pollination in the late 1980s. At the time, a leading broccoli seed grower and exporter known as the Sakata Seed Corporation came up with the idea of breeding a new crop that could tolerate heat better than broccoli. The team crossed two varieties of Brassica oleracea, Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra (Chinese kale) and Brassica oleracea var. italica (run-of-the-mill broccoli) and after years of work, the resulting hand-pollinated hybrid was named “Asparation” in a nod to its tender stems that were vaguely reminiscent of asparagus. Asparation seeds made their way to the U.S. through the Sakata Seed Corporation’s California subsidiary, where they were grown on a small family-run farm for further testing by shipper Sanbon Inc. The new crop turned out to dislike the heat as much as broccoli, but it tasted much milder, was pretty to look at, and easy to prepare, so Sanbon began sending samples to upscale food shops in the late 1990s. To expand the influence of the new produce, Sakata began working with Mann Packing, the biggest broccoli shipper in the world and the largest buyer of Sakata's broccoli seeds. Mann Packing began growing the crop in the cooler climate of Salinas, California in 1998. Around the same time, it was decided that the new crop needed a different name. The moniker “broccolini” came from Deb Nucci, the wife of the company’s then-CEO Joe Nucci; she reportedly came up with it at a dinner party. Broccolini has become increasingly popular in the intervening years, and today, it is a favorite for many.