Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Cut florets to similar sizes for even cooking. Don't skip the second bake after saucing - it caramelizes the sauce and creates crispy bits. Use a large enough pan so florets aren't crowded or they'll steam. Frank's RedHot is traditional; other sauces vary in heat. Serve immediately - these lose crispness quickly.

Buffalo cauliflower is a product of the American plant-based eating movement that accelerated dramatically in the 2010s, when vegetarian and flexitarian cooking moved from niche to mainstream in restaurants and home kitchens. The original inspiration — buffalo wings — was invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York by Teressa Bellissimo, who tossed fried chicken wings in hot sauce and butter and served them with blue cheese and celery. The sauce she used was Frank's RedHot, introduced in 1920 by Adams Extract Company in New Iberia, Louisiana, and long produced in Louisiana before becoming nationally distributed. Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is native to the Mediterranean and has been cultivated in the region since at least Roman times, documented in ancient Roman agricultural texts. The technique of roasting cauliflower at high heat until the cut surfaces caramelize — through the Maillard reaction — produces a texture and depth of flavor that can stand in for fried chicken in the buffalo format. Buffalo cauliflower became a restaurant staple in the United States after food writers and vegetarian publications popularized the recipe in the early 2010s, and it rapidly became one of the most ordered vegetarian appetizers in American casual-dining restaurants by 2015, driving broader awareness of cauliflower as a versatile savory ingredient.