cauliflower
[noun]
[de bloem-kool, de bloem-ko-len]

“Bloemkool” is composed of “bloem” and “kool”, which respectively translate to “flower” and “cabbage”. In the Netherlands, “bloemkool” is considered a “wintergroente”: a winter vegetable, i.e. a vegetable that is mostly eaten during the winterseason. Of course, it’s perfectly legal to eat “bloemkool” in the spring, summer and autumn too 🙂

“Bloemkool” is traditionally served with a “papje”: a sauce (lit.: little porridge, see also Extra). It is usually a white sauce, also called “melksaus” (milk sauce), which is made from milk, butter, flour, pepper, salt and nutmeg…

Examples:
– “Hou jij ook van bloemkool?” – “Ja, heerlijk!” 
(“Do you also like cauliflower” – “Yes, delicious!”)

– “Vanavond eten we bloemkool!” – “Mij best.” 
(“We’re having cauliflower tonight!” – “Fine with me.”)

– “Echte hollandse kost! Bloemkool met een papje…” – “Smakelijk eten!” 
(“A real Dutch meal! Cauliflower with sauce…” – “Bon appetit!”)

– “De bloemkolen waren uitverkocht in de supermarkt.” 
(“The cauliflowers were sold out in the supermarket.”)

Expressions:
– “Grote bloemkolen”: <sexist> big boobs.

Related words:
– Kool: cabbage [noun] [de kool, de kolen].
– Groente: vegetable [noun] [de groente, de groentes].

Example:
– “Iedere dag twee ons groente en twee stuks fruit.”
(“Every day, two ‘ons’ of vegetables en two pieces of fruit.” ; health campaign slogan by the Dutch government. Note that an ‘ons’ in Dutch is equal to 100 grams.)

– Broccoli: broccoli [noun] [de broccoli, <no plural>].
– Bloem: flower [noun] [de bloem, de bloemen].

Extra:
André van Duin is one of Holland’s most famous comedians. He’s been around for a long time, and in 1979 he had a small hit with the song “Bloemkolen“.

In the eighties, there was a very popular children’s show on Dutch television, called De Film van Ome Willem (the film of Uncle Willem), starring (former) Dutch TV celebrity and “BN’er“, Edwin Rutte, also known as Ome Willem. Watch him sing the intro song of the show, and check out the lyrics from 1m17s: “bloemkool met een papje”…:-)