Food: Eat Your Brussels Sprouts!

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Eat Your Brussels Sprouts!
Friday, September 30, 2005

Very few children want to hear this admonition, but the truth is that Brussels sprouts are a tasty vegetable, especially if they are cooked in a great recipe.

Brussels sprouts, who are part of the genus Brassica oleracea, are related to other dark green veggies, including cabbage, collard greens, and broccoli.

Brussels sprouts are seldom found fresh in the southern portion of the United States. This veggie is very fragile. They are native to the cold climates of northern Europe. People in Belgium enjoyed the cultivation of this crop and made it one of their principal crops. When the French claimed present-day Louisiana, they worked hard to bring this vegetable, which looks like a miniature cabbage, to their new homeland.

Over the centuries, Brussels sprouts have developed only two distinct breeds. The smaller variety grows up to two feet tall while the larger breed is two to four feet. Europeans actually eat a smaller version of the vegetable, measuring less than an inch in diameter while Americans prefer their Brussels sprouts one to two inches in diameter.

If you are planning to add Brussels sprouts to your garden, you will need to give the plants plenty of room to grow. Long, cold winters are perfect for the taller variety, but otherwise you should stick to the smaller ones. You will be able to harvest the veggie about three months after planting.

When the veggie begins to grow, the head of it, and the part you eat, will look like small cabbages. These tiny cabbages grow in what are called "leaf axels," meaning that they all start at the base and fan out in the same way cabbage and lettuce do.

Brussels sprouts definitely provide good nutrition, so you should make every effort to eat them at least a couple of times a month. A one-cup serving contains four grams of protein, which is fairly high for a vegetable. Sprouts also provide a good bit of folate (94 mcg per serving); potassium (494 mcg per serving); and Vitamin C (96 mg per serving).

Once you have decided to add Brussels sprouts to your diet, you may encounter a little resistance. The biggest hurdle in learning to make edible Brussels sprouts is to cut an “X” shape into the base of each one. Because the leaves are thin, they cook more quickly than the core. Then to get the core cooked, you have to overcook the leaves, making the sprouts taste yucky.

Regardless of the method of cooking, ten minutes is the maximum time you should cook Brussels sprouts. If they begin to lose their dark green color, you are overcooking them. Cut large sprouts in half to help them cook. Also select a uniform size so that they all get done in roughly the same amount of time.

Brussels sprouts are great with seasonings and are usually boiled. You can try adding bread crumbs for a little substance or overpowering the taste with seasoning if you really do not like them. Don't just skip them, though, because they are packed with nutrients.

By Julia Mercer

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