Sakata Seeds, a Japanese company with a branch in Northern California, developed this fairly new aspiring hybrid vegetable called Aspirations, sometimes spelled Asparations and Asperations. It resembles tiny broccoli florets growing on long, thin, edible stems. It is a successful cross between gai lan and broccoli that is sometimes called Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, broccolini, or baby broccoli. Requiring tender loving care and a lot of hands-on special attention, this vegetable is more difficult to grow than broccoli. The central bloom of every plant must be pinched off to allow the leggy side shoots to grow. Unlike broccoli, it takes repeated pickings. Hand cultivated, it takes about 60 to 90 days from seed to harvest.
Offering a taste similar to a mildly sweet broccoli, some say it tastes like a cross between asparagus and broccoli. However, asparagus and broccoli are not closely related and will not hybridize. With a pleasant tender crunch, its sweet broccoli taste has only a hint of the usual Chinese vegetable's mustard-like character when eaten raw. Cooking tames its flavor, making it even milder and sweeter.
