Cauliflower rice

A versatile, sustainable and nutritious product that can serve as a basis for various dishes.

Since 2014, Flander's FOOD, Greenyard and ILVO have been working together with various other partners on the production of cauliflower rice: an innovative food product that deals with the residual flows from the cauliflower harvest and is healthy and sustainable at the same time. Moreover, cauliflower rice can serve as a basis for other food products and it serves as inspiration to tackle the residual flows of other vegetables as well.

Every year, tons of food are thrown away. This often begins with the harvest in the field. During the cauliflower harvest, for instance, not only the leaves remain, but also the bottoms and the cored-out hearts. That is why Mieke Sys knocked on the door of Flander's FOOD in 2014 with an idea to do something with the large amount of waste left behind on the land when harvesting cauliflowers. Greenyard was also keen to contribute to this and saw opportunities to start upgrading the side streams of other vegetables as well.

Together with two agricultural companies, Flander's Food and Greenyard worked out a new way of harvesting. A machine manufacturer rebuilt the harvesting machines so that the entire cauliflower could be harvested and the leaves, cauliflower bottoms and drilled-out hearts no longer remained on the field. ILVO tested various valorisation methods and product ideas from Greenyard.

The result of this project was cauliflower rice: a product with broad application possibilities in various recipes. Other companies also saw cauliflower more as a raw material and looked for new possibilities themselves.

Cauliflower rice is a product rich in fibres and vitamins and allows the vegetable to be used in different ways. Moreover, it fits in a low-carbohydrate diet and a paleo diet and is easy to use: products based on cauliflower rice are preblanched and frozen, which makes them quick to prepare and gives them a maximum of vitamins.