Many people throw away broccoli stalks when cooking, but there is a clever way you can use them up. Broccoli is a popular vegetable that is added into a variety of dishes, like pasta, soups and salads, or served as a side dish. It can be boiled, steamed or roasted so it can be cooked to suit everyone’s taste. Raw broccoli is often described as crunchy and having a slightly sweet and slightly bitter taste. Cooked broccoli, however, tends to be sweeter and milder, with the bitterness less distinctive.

When preparing broccoli, a lot of people cut off the stems and throw them away, leaving only the florets (flower heads). This is often seen as the only "good" part of broccoli but the TikTok page @myrealfood_uk has demonstrated how the stems can be used.

In a video on the platform, a woman shared a life hack for cooking broccoli as she submerged the head of the broccoli into boiling water before easily cutting off the florets. She then showed what she does with the stem instead of throwing it in the bin.

She firstly sliced the stem vertically into slices and then said: "So just chop that up into little slices like this, put it into a frying pan with some soy sauce and there you have it."

This creates “something really delicious” that you can have at the side of your meal. As well as serving as a quick and easy side dish, broccoli stems contain a number of essential vitamins and nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium and folate, according to Livestrong.com.

The healthy living website mentions HealthyEating.org which claims broccoli stems contain sulforophane, a “sulfur-containing compound being studied for its anti-cancer properties.”

This part of broccoli has also been found to contain vitamin B1, B2, iron and magnesium. Broccoli as a whole has various health benefits, outlined by BBC Good Food.

It is good for heart health and may help to reduce the total amount of cholesterol in the body, it may be good for eye health, it contains cancer-protective compounds, acts as a plant oestrogen and may help to support hormonal balance and it is rich in sulphur, which could help to support the immune system and improve defences against infection. Love Food hate waste has shared eight recipes for broccoli stems, including broccoli fritters, broccoli balls and broccoli and cheese filo parcels.

Myrealfood_uk’s TikTok video on how to use broccoli stems has amassed an incredible one million views, 11,000 likes and nearly 100 comments, at the time of writing. One user said: “Life changing tip!” Another added: “Great tips, never thought about using the trunk before.”

A third commented: “Finally someone who uses the stem which is the most valuable part.” Someone else gave a suggestion: “You could make broccoli stem fries.”