It is always alarming to hear that yet another British product is under threat, particularly when it is one of those real foods of the sort that Michael Pollan rates highly in his book In Defence of Food (Allen Lane, £16.99).

This time it's the cauliflower. It seems that this is another case of "use it or lose it". Apparently, cauliflower has become unfashionable and British farmers are being paid less and less for this lovely winter vegetable. They say that if this doesn't change, it won't be worth producing cauliflowers - which would be disastrous as no country in the world grows finer cauliflowers than we do. They need a cool, moist climate such as we have to flourish.

Many people turn away from the vegetable as they have never experienced the joys of fresh cauliflower cooked until just tender, but not soft. Too many cooks boil it to death, reducing the creamy flowerhead to a pulp. When overcooked, it looses its fresh taste and firm texture.

I am pleading with everyone to look again at the cauliflower and be ready to pay a fair price for it. After all, you can get at least six portions from a large cauliflower and four generous portions from a small one.

Cauliflower is low in fat, but high in dietary fibre, folate (a water-soluble B vitamin) and vitamin C. It also contains several phytochemicals beneficial to human health, including sulforaphane, an anti-cancer compound released when the cauliflower is chopped or chewed.

When shopping for cauliflowers, look for heads that are firm and not quite fully developed above clean, white stalks. Avoid buying blown woolly heads, speckled with patches of brown. Cauliflowers with limp outer leaves should be avoided too.

When cooking cauliflower, remove it from the heat once the florets are tender but not soft as it really does spoil if overcooked and don't be afraid to add a knob of butter just before serving.

Try frying the cauliflower florets in a little olive oil, turning often until they begin to brown. Extra flavour can be added by sprinkling a little curry powder on to the florets when they are almost cooked. They also taste good when chopped garlic, coriander and parsley are added during the last stages of cooking.

A delicious cauliflower soup can be made by boiling two-thirds cauliflower and one-third chopped King Edward potatoes together until soft, adding stock or water to the mix before zapping it in the liquidiser to form a thick purée. Extra flavour can be obtained by adding chopped parsley and vegetable bouillon power.