1.3. Kailan–hybrid broccoli
Bimi® (Sakata Vegetables Europe) is a natural hybrid between broccoli and
kailan. This hybrid was firstly developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama
(Japan). Other companies have developed different commercial kailan–hybrid broccoli
varieties with registered trademarks: Asparation (Sakata Seed America), Bellaverde
(Seminis Vegetable Seeds), Broccolini (Mann Packaging Company), Tenderstem
(Marks and Spencer Plc.), etc. This vegetable was firstly commercialized by Sabon
Incorporated, which made a commercial program to sell Asparation in México in 1994.
Mann Packing Company introduced the new vegetable to the USA market in 1998.
Lately, its cultivation has been extended to other countries such as the northern
European countries, Brazil or Australia, among others.
This vegetable is characterized by a floret at the end of each stem (Figure 1.3).
Similarly to broccoli, kailan–hybrid broccoli has yellow flowers. The kailan–hybrid
broccoli has a flavour softer and more delicate than the conventional broccoli. Figure
1.4 shows the large differences in visual appearance between this new vegetable and
broccoli.