For all my reasoning and vegetable open-mindedness, I have never been more wrong in my life. The smell of sulfur hit my nose as soon as I came in the door from playing outside, and I knew at that moment that it would be a dinner to remember, in the worst possible way.
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| Photo: Rasa Malaysia |
The Fatal Error
I have since learned that my dear mother made a fatal error in cooking the golf ball-sized orbs, an error that most vegetables respond to simply by going limp: overcooking. Not the Brussels sprout. Cook it much beyond seven minutes, and like a little stink bomb, it releases a sulfurous-smelling compound known as sinigrin (which also happens to be one of the characteristics that makes the vegetable so healthy). Since smell is so much of taste, it sort of ruins the whole experience.
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Though Brussels sprouts have been around approximately since the days of the ancient Romans, they weren't grown in the United States until the early 1800s, when the French brought them to New Orleans. Today, California commercial growers harvest Brussels sprouts between June and January. Several thousand acres of Brussels sprouts are planted in California’s coastal region annually. This region is ideal for growing Brussels sprouts with the year round coastal fogs and cool temperatures, which resembles the cooler climate of northern Europe, specifically Belgium and the namesake city of Brussels.
How to Grow Brussels Sprouts
Growing Brussels sprouts is best done in a temperature range of 45 to 75 degrees. Although you can grow the plants from seed, today most plants are started in seed beds or greenhouses, then transplanted to growing fields when the plants are ready. The plants like a slightly more alkaline soil, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0, so it might be worth your time to test your soil before planting and amend with lime if necessary. Sun to part shade is preferable. Since stalks laden with sprouts are heavy, plant in firm dirt to provide extra support.
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| Photo: sxc.hu/debsch |
You can harvest Brussels sprouts in 90 to 180 days. The buds grow in a spiral along a stalk that is two to four feet tall, with the Brussels sprout buds ripening from the bottom up to the top of the stalk. You can harvest from each stalk several times; usually five to 15 sprout buds are picked at each harvest. Each stalk will yield two and a half to three pounds of Brussels sprout buds in a season.
A few other harvesting tips:
-Cut the sprouts off the stalk with clippers, rather than breaking them off
-Harvest before the buds are "blown" or all fluffed out. You want nice, tight little buds, not a loose group of leaves.
-Once most of the sprouts are ripened and/or harvested, cut off the top of the plant and use it as greens. This will also help the remaining buds to ripen.
How to Prepare Brussels Sprouts
The key words in this lesson: don't overcook. Wash the buds and peel away the loose leaves on the outside of the sprout. Then boil, steam or roast the buds for six to seven minutes (remember, much longer, and you risk setting off the stink bomb). Add a little butter and Parmesan cheese and you have a healthy addition to any meal. Brussels sprouts are available in grocery stores year round, but are at their best autumn through early spring because they like a good frost or two.
Brussel sprouts, like many of its cousins in the Brassica family, have amazing health benefits. Research has shown eating Brussels sprouts will help fight prostate, colorectal, bladder and lung cancer. Cruciferous vegetables, like cabbage, broccoli and kale are all effective cancer fighters and have been shown to successfully lower cholesterol, lessening your risk of heart disease.
Brussels sprouts also contain large amounts of vitamins A, K and C. These vitamins are important to maintaining a healthy immune system (including fighting inflammations of rheumatoid arthritis) and to promote supple, healthy skin. They're also full of dietary fiber, potassium, maganese, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, iron....basically, Mom had our best in mind when she tried to feed us Brussels sprouts.
Joanna is a new-ish homeowner who lives with her husband Todd in East Medford. They've been baptized by fire into gardening and landscaping, after moving in to an old house with a half-acre lot that was best described as "dead." After a year and a half of pruning the overgrown, planting new stuff and removing the dead, things are starting to look a lot more green.
