Hort Innovation and CSIRO have developed a broccoli powder, containing one serving of the vegetable for every two tablespoons. And one Melbourne cafe is already using the powder to brew its own broccoli latte.
But while the vegetable latte might not be for everyone, the powder could be used for smoothies, soups, baking or sneaking greens into your kid's meal.
“With a rising trend in healthy eating across the board, Australian growers are always looking at ways to diversify their products and cut waste while meeting consumer demand,” says Hort Innovation chief executive John Lloyd.
“Research shows the average Australian is still not eating the recommended daily intake of vegetables a day, and options such as broccoli powder will help address this."
“The powders are an option for farmers who want to produce value-added vegetable ingredients for the lucrative functional food markets,” adds lead researcher, CSIRO’s Mary Ann Augustin.
“The broccoli powder has already been used for the production of extruded snacks with high vegetable content," says Dr Augustin.
“Prototype extruded snacks with 20-100 per cent vegetable content were displayed during National Science Week at the Queen Victoria Market last year and were well-received by parents and even by kids.”
Umm, think we'll give broccoli lattes a miss.
