Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a small, green cabbage variety with a high nutritional content and a mild, sweet flavour. Brussels sprouts were originally grown in Belgium and named after the capital, Brussels. Here’s how to grow Brussels sprouts successfully.

Growing Brussels sprouts

Growing Brussels sprouts is not that difficult. A Brussels sprout plant is a cold-resistant plant that can be left outside all winter. In fact, it produces tastier vegetables after a few nights of frost. However, Brussels sprouts need quite a long time to develop. Brussels sprouts thrive best in a sunny and well-drained location with a neutral or slightly acidic soil.

To grow Brussels sprouts and get good results, you need to follow a few simple steps:

1. Sow the seeds in pots or plug trays in early spring, about 1cm deep is just right.
2. Keep the soil moist and choose a place that is bright and warm.
3. At the end of May, when the small seedlings have grown at least four leaves, you can plant them out. 40-60 cm is a good distance between plants.
4. If you are growing in rows, there should be at least 60 cm between rows. When planting, water the plants thoroughly.
5. Keep the soil loose and weed during the summer, water if it is dry.
6. Fertilising the plants once or twice can increase the harvest.

Brussels sprouts can give a long harvest

You can start harvesting Brussels sprouts in early autumn. Leave a few leaves on the stems from which you take the heads. One plant can produce a harvest for several months, often right up to Christmas. Brussels sprouts are at their best after one or two nights of frost. This is because Brussels sprouts have a defence against frost damage. It produces sugars that lower the freezing point of the plant. Brussels sprouts thus become sweeter and more aromatic as a defence against frost damage.

A healthy delicacy

A Christmas dinner without Brussels sprouts is unthinkable for many. But the flavour can be something of a watershed. Brussels sprouts, like all cabbages, can taste bitter to those who are hypersensitive to phenylthiocarbamide. That’s why children tend not to like Brussels sprouts.

For those of us who are not hypersensitive, properly cooked Brussels sprouts can develop a sweetness and a nutty flavour that makes them a real delicacy. Brussels sprouts can also taste very different depending on how they are cooked.

The tastiest way to prepare Brussels sprouts may be to boil them, fry them in butter or bake them in the oven – depending on your preferences. If you haven’t tried making Brussels sprouts au gratin, we recommend it. You can gratinate Brussels sprouts with cream and gorgonzola if you want a more robust dish that stands on its own. You can also use ham and Christmas cheese if you want to do something different with Brussels sprouts for the Christmas table.

Brussels sprouts are a good source of vitamins C, A, B6, folate, potassium, iron and fibre. They also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are thought to prevent various diseases.

Author: Johanna Damm

Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra

Last updated 2023-12-04