Romanesco - the fractal vegetable

"Julian Vrieslander" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel
messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer look,
the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's a fractal!".

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've never
seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the top of
the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on fractals,
vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some serving
suggestions at the end.

--
Julian Vrieslander

This kind of vegetable is very common in Italy: we call it "cavolo verde" or
"cavolfiore verde" = green culiflower. It is very good. after having boiled
we cook it in a frying pan with garlic, oil and a piece of hot chili pepper.
It is very good with BBQ sausages or mixed to pasta. You can also eat it
like a "flan".
Cheers
Pandora

Julian Vrieslander said:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

When I first saw the vegetable, it was called a broccoflower and was
told it was a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I've since
learned that it isn't exactly a cross but a vegetable closely related to
cauliflower grown in a way that allows sunlight to reach the head and
thus let it grow green. I like the name Romanesco more.

I know what you mean about the fractals. It looks so cool I couldn't
wait to try it. The trouble is with the texture. I do like it and
wouldn't turn it down, but plain old cauliflower is better, firmer when
raw, and smoother when cooked. The broccoflower gets a sort of mealy
feeling in my mouth.

--Lia

In article
<[email hidden]>
,

Julian Vrieslander said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer look,
the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's a fractal!".

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've never
seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the top of
the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on fractals,
vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some serving
suggestions at the end.

Thanks for the link, Julian. I've seen the vegetable and was curious
about its shape. Cool. I understood about every 14th word of the text.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-9-05 finishing in four
parts the trip report from our vacation time in San Francisco
for Nephew Pat's wedding last weekend.

Julian Vrieslander said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer look,
the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's a fractal!".

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've never
seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the top of
the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on fractals,
vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some serving
suggestions at the end.

Interesting pics! If I'm not mistaken the romanesco is a cross between
broccoli and cauliflower.

In article
<[email hidden]>
,

Julian Vrieslander said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer look,
the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's a fractal!".

<lol> You have a very good point...

Quoted message said:

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've never
seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the top of
the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on fractals,
vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some serving
suggestions at the end.

I LOVE this stuff! Called "Broccoflower" here, it's expensive but
delicious. I just serve it steamed with a little white cheese sauce made
with jack cheese. ;-d

It's also not bad with lemon butter.
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

~patches~ said:

Quoted message said:

Julian Vrieslander said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer
look, the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's
a fractal!".

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've
never seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the
top of the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on
fractals, vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some
serving suggestions at the end.

Interesting pics! If I'm not mistaken the romanesco is a cross
between broccoli and cauliflower.

You cheated! You just looked at the pics. lol... I read it and from what
you wrote saw that you missed the follwoing ... All of these plants,
notwithstanding their gross morphological differences, can and have been
crossed, resulting in such innovations as broccolini (a cross of Chinese
kale and broccoli) and broccoflower (a cross of broccoli and cauliflower
which superficially resembles Romanesco but lacks its near perfect
self-similar fractal form). I have to admit that after the first few
sentences I started considering going straight to the pics, but decided my
brain needed a good workout and stuck it out. :-)

Debbie

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and
stupidity." Harlan Ellison

"Julian Vrieslander" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
news:[email hidden].
...

Quoted message said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer look,
the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's a fractal!".

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've never
seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the top of
the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on fractals,
vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some serving
suggestions at the end.

Aren't they amazing though? I saw them in Tesco s/market here, around 6
years ago IIRC. They're a great veg to steam whole and serve centre plate to
guests ',;~}~

One thing though - cauliflower has a fractal structure, as does broccoli,
the centre of a daisy flower (actually they are pretty mush the same pattern
as the romanesco) etc, just not the 'ordered' type like romanesco.

Fractals are all the heck through and over nature, ya just have to open your
eyes to see them.

Shaun aRe

Julia said:

I know what you mean about the fractals. It looks so cool I couldn't wait
to try it. The trouble is with the texture. I do like it and wouldn't
turn it down, but plain old cauliflower is better, firmer when raw, and
smoother when cooked. The broccoflower gets a sort of mealy feeling in my
mouth.

It works well in Chicken Divan and other casseroles, since you *want*
something with texture. For an extremely simple dinner, I put chicken and
broccoflower pieces in a casserole dish, pour one of those Consorzio
marinades over, and cook at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Bob

In article <[email hidden]>,

Shaun aRe said:

"Julian Vrieslander" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
news:[email hidden].
..

Quoted message said:

I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer look,
the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's a fractal!".

Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've never
seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/

The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the top of
the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on fractals,
vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some serving
suggestions at the end.

Aren't they amazing though? I saw them in Tesco s/market here, around 6
years ago IIRC. They're a great veg to steam whole and serve centre plate to
guests ',;~}~

One thing though - cauliflower has a fractal structure, as does broccoli,
the centre of a daisy flower (actually they are pretty mush the same pattern
as the romanesco) etc, just not the 'ordered' type like romanesco.

Fractals are all the heck through and over nature, ya just have to open your
eyes to see them.

Shaun aRe

And understand fractals. ;-)
I have a moderate collection of them off of the web if anyone wants a
file of them? They make great wallpapers!

Flame fractals are even lovlier. Click on "Galleries":

http://www.arcanefractals.com/

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

And understand fractals. ;-)
I have a moderate collection of them off of the web if anyone wants a
file of them? They make great wallpapers!

Wallpaper!!!??? If you can see the wallpaper, it means you're not using the
computer - you're staring at the screen. Walk away. Read a book. Go fishing.
Something.....anything.

Debbie said:

~patches~ said:

Quoted message said:

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

>I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
>cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer
>look, the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's
>a fractal!".
>
>Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
>geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've
>never seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.
>
>http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/
>
>The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the
>top of the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on
>fractals, vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some
>serving suggestions at the end.
>

Interesting pics! If I'm not mistaken the romanesco is a cross
between broccoli and cauliflower.

You cheated! You just looked at the pics. lol... I read it and from what

Not really cheated. I was only interested in the pics since I know what
fractals are. The pics were nice though. I might use one for my
desktop background. I've had one of Niagra Falls on for awhile so it's
time for a change if I get around to it.

Quoted message said:

you wrote saw that you missed the follwoing ... All of these plants,
notwithstanding their gross morphological differences, can and have been
crossed, resulting in such innovations as broccolini (a cross of Chinese
kale and broccoli) and broccoflower (a cross of broccoli and cauliflower
which superficially resembles Romanesco but lacks its near perfect
self-similar fractal form). I have to admit that after the first few
sentences I started considering going straight to the pics, but decided my
brain needed a good workout and stuck it out. :-)

Mine's getting a workout in a couple other ways at the moment. I
decided to expand my knowledge in herbology which led to a total review
of my physiology and endocrinology texts 🙂

Quoted message said:

Debbie

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and
stupidity." Harlan Ellison

Debbie said:

~patches~ said:

Quoted message said:

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

>I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like a
>cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a closer
>look, the first thing that popped into my head was "holy cow, it's
>a fractal!".
>
>Now this may not be the appropriate forum for postings on fractal
>geometry. But even if you don't know the mathematics, if you've
>never seen a Romanesco, you may be amazed.
>
>http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/
>
>The above web page has some good photos - click on the pic at the
>top of the page to start a slide show. Plus some brief musings on
>fractals, vegetable taxonomy, the meaning of life, and even some
>serving suggestions at the end.
>

Interesting pics! If I'm not mistaken the romanesco is a cross
between broccoli and cauliflower.

You cheated! You just looked at the pics. lol... I read it and from what

Not really cheated. I was only interested in the pics since I know what
fractals are. The pics were nice though. I might use one for my
desktop background. I've had one of Niagra Falls on for awhile so it's
time for a change if I get around to it.

Quoted message said:

you wrote saw that you missed the follwoing ... All of these plants,
notwithstanding their gross morphological differences, can and have been
crossed, resulting in such innovations as broccolini (a cross of Chinese
kale and broccoli) and broccoflower (a cross of broccoli and cauliflower
which superficially resembles Romanesco but lacks its near perfect
self-similar fractal form). I have to admit that after the first few
sentences I started considering going straight to the pics, but decided my
brain needed a good workout and stuck it out. :-)

Mine's getting a workout in a couple other ways at the moment. I
decided to expand my knowledge in herbology which led to a total review
of my physiology and endocrinology texts 🙂

Quoted message said:

Debbie

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and
stupidity." Harlan Ellison

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

And understand fractals. ;-)
I have a moderate collection of them off of the web if anyone wants a
file of them? They make great wallpapers!

Wallpaper!!!??? If you can see the wallpaper, it means you're not using the
computer - you're staring at the screen. Walk away. Read a book. Go fishing.
Something.....anything.

Let's not go there. ;-)

I have a rotating wallpaper file that is up to 673 pictures now. They
change once every minute.

It allows me to enjoy my image collection on an ongoing basis.

Yeah, a lot of times I don't see them, but it's enough when I do when I
am changing screens.

I'm well aware that there are some purists that don't believe in using
wallpaper. I've seen those discussions on other lists.

If you want a boring computer screen, it's your call. I like to decorate
mine and even have a HUGE file of folder icons!

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

~patches~ said:

Quoted message said:

Debbie said:

~patches~ wrote:

>> Julian Vrieslander wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I saw some unusual vegetables at our local market. Sort of like
>>> a cauliflower, but with a very intricate structure. Taking a
>>> closer look, the first thing that popped into my head was "holy
>>> cow, it's a fractal!".
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Interesting pics! If I'm not mistaken the romanesco is a cross
>> between broccoli and cauliflower.

I have to admit that

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

after the first few sentences I started considering going straight
to the pics, but decided my brain needed a good workout and stuck
it out. :-)

Mine's getting a workout in a couple other ways at the moment. I
decided to expand my knowledge in herbology which led to a total
review of my physiology and endocrinology texts 🙂

That will do it! Been there, done that and try to avoid repeating the
process! :-)

Debbie

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

And understand fractals. ;-)
I have a moderate collection of them off of the web if anyone wants a
file of them? They make great wallpapers!

Wallpaper!!!??? If you can see the wallpaper, it means you're not using
the
computer - you're staring at the screen. Walk away. Read a book. Go
fishing.
Something.....anything.

Let's not go there. ;-)

I have a rotating wallpaper file that is up to 673 pictures now. They
change once every minute.

It allows me to enjoy my image collection on an ongoing basis.

Yeah, a lot of times I don't see them, but it's enough when I do when I
am changing screens.

I'm well aware that there are some purists that don't believe in using
wallpaper. I've seen those discussions on other lists.

If you want a boring computer screen, it's your call. I like to decorate
mine and even have a HUGE file of folder icons!

If there ever comes a time when you're trying to run a bunch of memory-hog
programs at once and the machine's beginning to run slowly as a result, shut
off the wallpaper completely. It uses resources like everything else, and
sometimes quite a bit if the bitmap files are large.

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

Quoted message said:

You cheated! You just looked at the pics. lol... I read it and from what

Not really cheated. I was only interested in the pics since I know what
fractals are. The pics were nice though. I might use one for my
desktop background. I've had one of Niagra Falls on for awhile so it's
time for a change if I get around to it.

I have mine set on rotation.
Wallpaper changes every 60 seconds. :-)
I like it.
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

> And understand fractals. ;-)
> I have a moderate collection of them off of the web if anyone wants a
> file of them? They make great wallpapers!

Wallpaper!!!??? If you can see the wallpaper, it means you're not using
the
computer - you're staring at the screen. Walk away. Read a book. Go
fishing.
Something.....anything.

Let's not go there. ;-)

I have a rotating wallpaper file that is up to 673 pictures now. They
change once every minute.

It allows me to enjoy my image collection on an ongoing basis.

Yeah, a lot of times I don't see them, but it's enough when I do when I
am changing screens.

I'm well aware that there are some purists that don't believe in using
wallpaper. I've seen those discussions on other lists.

If you want a boring computer screen, it's your call. I like to decorate
mine and even have a HUGE file of folder icons!

If there ever comes a time when you're trying to run a bunch of memory-hog
programs at once and the machine's beginning to run slowly as a result, shut
off the wallpaper completely. It uses resources like everything else, and
sometimes quite a bit if the bitmap files are large.

I understand that... :-)

My biggest memory hog is the DVD player, or Photoshop.
When I run either of those, I turn everything off except mail and usenet
and everything runs fine. I can generally run this, mail, a web browser
or two (IE and Safari), image viewing, I-tunes (I like to listen to the
radio on line a lot) and still print all at the same time.

It's nice when you max out your RAM!

But, thanks for the advice!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

Quoted message said:

You cheated! You just looked at the pics. lol... I read it and from what

Not really cheated. I was only interested in the pics since I know what
fractals are. The pics were nice though. I might use one for my
desktop background. I've had one of Niagra Falls on for awhile so it's
time for a change if I get around to it.

I have mine set on rotation.
Wallpaper changes every 60 seconds. :-)
I like it.

I would find that too distracting but it's a great idea for those who
like changing the background often.

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

>You cheated! You just looked at the pics. lol... I read it and from what

Not really cheated. I was only interested in the pics since I know what
fractals are. The pics were nice though. I might use one for my
desktop background. I've had one of Niagra Falls on for awhile so it's
time for a change if I get around to it.

I have mine set on rotation.
Wallpaper changes every 60 seconds. :-)
I like it.

I would find that too distracting but it's a great idea for those who
like changing the background often.

It starts out distracting at first, but you get used to it and learn to
ignore it, unless a particularly neat pic comes up that you want to look
at. :-)
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson