This is America’s Favorite Vegetable? Really?

A survey of more than 5,000 Americans aged 13 to 73 conducted by the canned- and frozen-vegetable brand Green Giant has revealed that the nation’s favorite vegetable is…broccoli.

Happily for the company, Green Giant sells broccoli in several forms — including as “veggie tots,” which are a food you couldn’t buy frozen 35 years ago.

Never mind that other surveys identify potatoes as being far and away America’s favorite, followed by onions, tomatoes, and carrots. The Green Giant study, conducted through the DIY market research software platform Suzy® in honor of National Eat Your Vegetables Day, last Monday, computed consumer preferences on a state by state basis.

A majority of respondents in some 39 states — including Idaho, which styles itself “The Potato Capital of the World” — put broccoli in the number-one slot. Only one state, Arkansas, voted for potatoes (five states chose spuds in last year’s survey), while cauliflower (Montana) and asparagus (Alaska) appeared on the map for the first time. Cucumber, last year’s favorite in New Mexico and Louisiana, was absent in 2019.

It isn’t clear whether the Green Giant poll addressed canned and frozen produce exclusively, but a study of consumer preferences in fresh fruit and vegetables for 2018, conducted by the Produce Marketing Association, showed broccoli in seventh place, behind not only potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and carrots, but also peppers and lettuce.

Broccoli is a versatile vegetable that takes well to boiling, sautéing, roasting, and slow-cooking, among other cooking methods, It is also one of the best foods for your gut health.