Цветная капуста полезнее, чем жареный картофель.

This is just the normal Russian name for cauliflower.

• цветная = colored / flowering
• капуста = cabbage

Historically, the name is connected to the flower-like head of cauliflower, not to it being multicolored. So even though the literal parts may seem strange, цветная капуста is simply the standard word for cauliflower.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So where English says:

• Cauliflower is healthier than fried potatoes

Russian normally says:

• Цветная капуста полезнее, чем жареный картофель.

There is no present-tense есть here. Using есть in this sentence would usually sound unnatural.

полезнее is the comparative form of полезный (healthy / beneficial / useful).

So:

• полезный = healthy, beneficial
• полезнее = healthier, more beneficial

A key point: this comparative form does not change for gender or number.

That is why:

• капуста is feminine,
• картофель is masculine,
• but полезнее stays the same.

Compare:

• яблоко полезнее = the apple is healthier
• морковь полезнее = the carrot is healthier
• овощи полезнее = vegetables are healthier

Yes, but it would usually be structured a little differently.

Russian has two common ways to form comparatives:

1. Simple comparative

   • полезнее = healthier

2. Analytical comparative

   • более полезный / более полезная / более полезное = more healthy / more beneficial

In this sentence, полезнее is the most natural choice.

You could also say something like:

• Цветная капуста более полезна, чем жареный картофель.

That is grammatical, but полезнее sounds simpler and more natural in everyday speech.

чем means than in comparisons.

So the pattern is:

• X полезнее, чем Y
  = X is healthier than Y

In this sentence:

• Цветная капуста = the first thing being compared
• полезнее = healthier
• чем жареный картофель = than fried potatoes / than fried potato

So чем is the word that introduces the second part of the comparison.

Both are possible, but they are slightly different in style and nuance.

• картофель is more neutral, standard, or formal
• картошка is more everyday and conversational

So:

• жареный картофель sounds a bit more neutral or written
• жареная картошка sounds more casual and common in speech

Both can mean fried potatoes depending on context.

Also notice the agreement:

• картофель is masculine, so жареный
• картошка is feminine, so жареная

Russian often uses the singular where English uses a plural or a mass noun.

Here жареный картофель refers to the food as a dish or substance in a general sense, not necessarily to one single potato.

So even though English often says fried potatoes, Russian can naturally say:

• жареный картофель

You may also hear:

• жареная картошка

Both can refer to the dish in general.

This is a spelling point that often confuses learners.

In modern Russian:

• жареный with one н is the usual adjective meaning fried
• жаренный with two н appears in more specific participial contexts, especially when there are dependent words or a clearer verbal sense

In ordinary food descriptions, Russian usually uses:

• жареный картофель
• жареная рыба
• жареное мясо

So for a learner, the safest basic form to remember for food is жареный.

Because these are two different kinds of words grammatically.

• жареный is a regular adjective modifying картофель
• полезнее is a comparative form used as the predicate

Regular adjectives agree in gender, number, and case:

• жареный картофель
• жареная картошка
• жареное мясо

But the comparative form полезнее does not change:

• капуста полезнее
• яблоко полезнее
• овощи полезнее

So:

• жареный agrees
• полезнее stays fixed

Sometimes yes, but that creates a different structure.

Russian can sometimes compare using the genitive case without чем, especially in more formal or literary style:

• Цветная капуста полезнее жареного картофеля.

Here жареного картофеля is in the genitive case.

But for learners, the easiest and most common pattern is:

• полезнее, чем ...

So the version with чем is usually the best one to learn first.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Цветная капуста полезнее, чем жареный картофель.

But you could also hear variations such as:

• Жареный картофель менее полезен, чем цветная капуста.
• Полезнее, чем жареный картофель, цветная капуста.

That last one is possible, but much less neutral and more marked for emphasis.

So yes, word order can change, but the original sentence is the most straightforward and natural version.

The main stresses are:

• цветнАя капУста
• полезнЕе
• жАреный картОфель

So the full sentence is pronounced approximately as:

• цветнАя капУста полезнЕе, чем жАреный картОфель

Stress is very important in Russian, because it is not always predictable and can change from form to form.