MY BRUSSELS SPROUT ODYSSEY
They’re the vegetable equivalent of Marmite – you either love them or hate them. But whatever your opinion, the humble Brussels sprout has become a Christmas essential. Indeed, we eat a staggering 264 million in Britain over the festive season, more than any other country in Europe. But just how do they make it to your festive feast? I went to follow some on their colourful annual odyssey from field to table.
When Guy Watson founded Riverford Farm in 1987 he was supplying organically grown vegetables to just 30 local Devon households. Now Riverford delivers 40,000 boxes a week to homes around the UK – and over Christmas, sprouts are an essential part of the mix. In fact, 80 per cent of British sprout sales are made in the two-week Christmas and New Year period.
Anthony and Mary Lou Coker are among the farmers who now supply Riverford with their Christmas sprouts. The three acres of fields used to grow these brassicas are all harvested by hand, so they grow a variety that is easily picked – the Helemus sprout.
The Cokers tell me that they have around 44,000 Brussels sprout plants, with each one of their three acres yielding around four tons of the vegetable. In a good year, it could be even more.
The sprouts are essentially buds, which grow off a stalk that can be up to 120cm tall. Bent over one of the plants, I wonder how many people and how long it takes to pick the entire crop.
‘We pick the sprouts according to the orders we get, so we wouldn’t pick the whole fi eld in one go,’ Anthony explains. ‘If 400 kilos are required, then four people can quite easily pick that amount in an afternoon.’
I decide to have a go. I find it far from easy work and can feel a twinge in my back after just 20 minutes. Once all the sprouts are picked at the end of the season, Anthony lets in his flock of sheep, who are waiting eagerly in the next field, to eat the remaining leaves (which can also be picked and either boiled or used in a stir-fry), leaving just the stalks. These are then ploughed back into the land, providing nutrients for the following year’s crop.
Ruddy-cheeked and caked in mud, we follow the sprouts to Riverford HQ to box up our day’s pickings. Over the Christmas period, there are more than 60 people working in the packing barn; 46 (including me) doing the packing, 10 loading the boxes on to the vans for delivery, and five eagle-eyed experts watching over quality control. The barn is a bit like Santa’s workshop, but with fresh vegetables busily being packed instead of toys and sweets.
Once in from the fields, the vegetables are placed on a conveyor belt. The packers then select veg for the individual boxes, which will be delivered to their customers. When the boxes are full they are given a final check and loaded into a van, ready to be delivered by one of the 150 drivers to Riverford’s 40,000 customers. In the weeks running up to Christmas, the number of boxes ordered increases by a whopping 25 per cent.
Quality control is tight, but nothing goes to waste. Any fruit or vegetable that cannot be used (because it is too small or there is a surplus) is taken to a soup kitchen in London, or used to feed the cattle.
The remainder, however, may well end up on your plate this Christmas. And now you know where they come from, they should be all the tastier.
Riverford Organic Farms: 01803-762059, www.riverford.co.uk
When Guy Watson founded Riverford Farm in 1987 he was supplying organically grown vegetables to just 30 local Devon households. Now Riverford delivers 40,000 boxes a week to homes around the UK – and over Christmas, sprouts are an essential part of the mix. In fact, 80 per cent of British sprout sales are made in the two-week Christmas and New Year period.
Anthony and Mary Lou Coker are among the farmers who now supply Riverford with their Christmas sprouts. The three acres of fields used to grow these brassicas are all harvested by hand, so they grow a variety that is easily picked – the Helemus sprout.
The Cokers tell me that they have around 44,000 Brussels sprout plants, with each one of their three acres yielding around four tons of the vegetable. In a good year, it could be even more.
The sprouts are essentially buds, which grow off a stalk that can be up to 120cm tall. Bent over one of the plants, I wonder how many people and how long it takes to pick the entire crop.
‘We pick the sprouts according to the orders we get, so we wouldn’t pick the whole fi eld in one go,’ Anthony explains. ‘If 400 kilos are required, then four people can quite easily pick that amount in an afternoon.’
I decide to have a go. I find it far from easy work and can feel a twinge in my back after just 20 minutes. Once all the sprouts are picked at the end of the season, Anthony lets in his flock of sheep, who are waiting eagerly in the next field, to eat the remaining leaves (which can also be picked and either boiled or used in a stir-fry), leaving just the stalks. These are then ploughed back into the land, providing nutrients for the following year’s crop.
Ruddy-cheeked and caked in mud, we follow the sprouts to Riverford HQ to box up our day’s pickings. Over the Christmas period, there are more than 60 people working in the packing barn; 46 (including me) doing the packing, 10 loading the boxes on to the vans for delivery, and five eagle-eyed experts watching over quality control. The barn is a bit like Santa’s workshop, but with fresh vegetables busily being packed instead of toys and sweets.
Once in from the fields, the vegetables are placed on a conveyor belt. The packers then select veg for the individual boxes, which will be delivered to their customers. When the boxes are full they are given a final check and loaded into a van, ready to be delivered by one of the 150 drivers to Riverford’s 40,000 customers. In the weeks running up to Christmas, the number of boxes ordered increases by a whopping 25 per cent.
Quality control is tight, but nothing goes to waste. Any fruit or vegetable that cannot be used (because it is too small or there is a surplus) is taken to a soup kitchen in London, or used to feed the cattle.
The remainder, however, may well end up on your plate this Christmas. And now you know where they come from, they should be all the tastier.
Riverford Organic Farms: 01803-762059, www.riverford.co.uk
Fascinating facts about sprouts…
- There are 50 varieties of sprout.
- They became a Christmas staple because they are harvested in the colder months, although new farming methods mean they are now available all year round.
- The bitterly cold winter of 2010 cut the harvest short by two months. This led to fears there would be a shortage of the veg for Christmas.
- In December, Morrisons alone sells around 650 tonnes of them per week, more than the weight of an A380 Airbus.
- Sprouts became popular in the Belgian capital in the 16th century, hence their name. But early forms of the vegetable are thought to have come from Iran.
- The sprout is part of the brassica family, which includes cabbage and broccoli.
- Linus Urbanec from Sweden holds the record for eating the most Brussels sprouts in one minute. He ate 31 in November 2008. Esther Rantzen tried to beat the record, but failed. She vowed never to repeat the experience.
- In China, sprouts are prescribed as a natural remedy for digestive health.
- Sprouts are high in sinigrin and glucosinolates, which are thought to help fight cancer.
- In 2002 a survey named sprouts as Britain’s most hated veg. In a survey nine years on, they were only the second most hated – after aubergines.