Foods of England - Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts

Fruit and Vegetables

The Brussels sprout is a cultivar of wild cabbage, first found, not in Belgium, but in the Netherlands in the 16th Century. In its first appearance by name in an English cookery book, Acton 1845, they are boiled for only 8 to 10 minutes.

See: Sprouts with Chestnuts, Sprout Soup

The cross-bottoming of sprouts
Image: http://www.stayathomemummy.co.uk

Many people detect an unpleasant smell when sprouts are overcooked, it is, of course, due to the 3-methylthiopropyl, 4-methylthiobutyl and allyl isothiocyanate released from the sprout core. All sprouts produce this, but not all people are capable of detecting it – a similar effect occurs with asparagus.

The practice of cutting a cross-shape in the base of each trimmed sprout before boiling is often said to have originated in a spell to ‘keep the Devil out’, but there is no evidence whatever that it improves the flavour or reduces cooking time, or, indeed, prevents the ingress of unwanted devils. We suspect that this tradition continues during the lengthy preparations for the Christmas Feast simply as a way of giving troublesome would-be cook’s assistants something to do.

Advert

MORE FROM Foods of England...
Cookbooks ● Diary ● Index ● Magic Menu ● Random ● Really English? ● Timeline ● Donate ● Royalty ● English Service ● Food Map of England ● Lost Foods ● Accompaniments ● Biscuits ● Breads ● Cakes and Scones ● Cheeses ● Classic Meals ● Curry Dishes ● Dairy ● Drinks ● Egg Dishes ● Fish ● Fruit ● Fruits & Vegetables ● Game & Offal ● Meat & Meat Dishes ● Pastries and Pies ● Pot Meals ● Poultry ● Preserves & Jams ● Puddings & Sweets ● Sauces and Spicery ● Sausages ● Scones ● Soups ● Sweets and Toffee ● About ... ● Bookshop ●

Email: [email protected]