Question: What is the proper blessing on a salad whose main ingredient is raw broccoli?
Answer: Since broccoli is the main ingredient of the salad, we must discuss the appropriate blessing on the broccoli and this will, in turn, exempt the rest of the salad.
Broccoli, like cucumbers and cabbage, is a vegetable and therefore requires the “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” blessing (Mishnah Berachot 35a).
The issue at hand here is that most people consume broccoli cooked and it is generally considered better cooked than raw.
The Gemara (Berachot 38b) states: “Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: Any food whose blessing is “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” and was cooked now requires the “Shehakol Nihya Bidvaro” blessing.” By way of example, the Gemara describes leek, which is generally enjoyed more when raw, if cooked is then considered to have been “changed for the worse” and therefore now requires the “Shehakol” blessing (a general blessing encompassing all foods and beverages) as opposed to “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” ( a blessing specific to good-tasting vegetables).
Indeed, Maran Ha’Shulchan Aruch (Chapter 205) rules that raw leek requires the “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” blessing, while cooked leek requires the “Shehakol” blessing.
The opposite is true as well: Regarding vegetables which are enjoyed better when cooked, when eaten cooked, they require the “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” blessing, but if eaten raw, they require the “Shehakol” blessing. Thus, cooked squash requires the “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” blessing, while raw squash would require the “Shehakol” blessing.
Fruits and vegetables equally tasty and enjoyed equally in both cooked and raw forms require the “Boreh Peri Ha’etz” and “Boreh Peri Ha’adama” blessings respectively.
The Acharonim (quoted in Responsa Otzerot Yosef, Volume 10, Chapter 7) explain that the way to figure out whether a vegetable is better in its raw or cooked state is simply by taking a survey of what most people do in any given area.
Thus, regarding broccoli, since most people in places known to us eat broccoli more in its cooked form than in its raw form, raw broccoli would require the “Shehakol” blessing, and a raw broccoli salad would retain the same law.
Important Note: Since broccoli is a highly-infested vegetable and it is impractical to clean, one should only purchase and consume specific brands of greenhouse-grown fresh or frozen broccoli supervised by respectable Kashrut agencies expert in the art of produce checking.
