The Brussel Sprout: A Tiny Sweet Cabbage - If Treated Right

Guest Blogger, Dorigen Keeney, Program Director at Hunger Free Vermont

In Vermont we have a very short growing season making brussel sprouts ideal to grow here. They even get better when they are frosted. I plant mine in the floor of our root cellar and the sprouts on their stalks remain good to eat until spring. They are good shredded and sautéed with lemon peel, roasted in the oven with garlic and walnuts or halved and slow sautéed in olive oil with garlic or lemon peel added at the end. If over cooked or reheated, they can get the unpleasant sulfur taste that some people associate with the vegetable. Brussel sprouts are full of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, with 1 cup providing more than a day's requirement for vitamins C and K. They are a member of the cabbage family, all of which have cancer prevention properties.

Brussel sprouts are perfect to put on the menu in a childcare or school to introduce children to this wonderful vegetable. These meal programs, on average, provide more fruits and vegetables than meals that children eat at home and create an opportunity for children to learn from each other and try new foods. The small balls of closely packed leaves are beautiful and easy for small hands to pick up and eat. When I cooked for a childcare center, I called them baby cabbages and the children loved them. They also told me that they hated brussel sprouts as did their parents. I just smiled and served seconds.