Why 2020 is the year of the historically maligned brussels sprout

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In a year that will forever be branded “unprecedented”, news that the historically maligned brussels sprout had been voted Britain’s favourite vegetable seemed pretty much par for the course.

Indeed, one could easily make a case for the sprout being the vegetal manifestation of 2020: bitter, unsightly and bound to have powerful consequences. 

The survey, released late last month, was conducted by Waitrose: not the most representative of supermarkets, but you don’t have to shop there to notice the creeping presence of sprouts in cookbooks, food magazines and restaurants, where increasingly they are being elevated to something far more than side dish.  

Once upon a time a sprout pizza would have been a publicity stunt. You’d turn some heads and gain a few curious customers who would – when push came to pizza – order a pepperoni. 

Now Mamma Dough, a series of pizzerias in south London, is launching a pizza topped with a combination of shredded brussels sprouts oven-roasted in olive oil with salty pancetta and creamy gorgonzola as their Christmas special – and they’re serious about it. “As a kid, it was the only veg I was allowed to dodge, because it was the only veg my father wouldn’t eat. 

“Thankfully my tastebuds have matured. This pizza is yum,” says founder Jake Harrison. At Gastrono-me in Bury St Edmunds Gemma Simmonite is serving her foot-long plant dog topped with “sproutkraut”: sauerkraut made with sprouts. She loves the name – “it really makes me chuckle” – but that’s not the only reason it’s on the menu. “I completely love the funk that a kraut or kimchi brings to any dog, sandwich, or burger, and it’s especially good in this one as that tangy depth can sometimes be missing in vegan food.”

That said, there is no denying the comedic value of the brussels sprout; the shape, smell and after-effects of which seem almost tailor-made for mockery. Never one to miss a monetisable meme, retailers have cottoned onto this in recent years, with everything from Christmas decorations to duvet covers sporting the distinctive green veg. 

According to Shokofeh Hejazi, senior trends analyst at The Food People, this is one of the reasons we feel more favourable toward them: they have “tongue-in-cheek appeal – particularly during the holiday season, when fun novelty items surge in popularity,” she says. “Indeed, though they may have been historically maligned, now we are seeing sprout imagery and cartoons crop up on party cakes, party dresses, even face masks!” Then there’s the baubles, chocolate truffles and fairy lights which the spherical sprouts are so well suited for. Nothing says Christmas 2020 like a vegetal face mask and a brassica twinkling off your tree.  

Facetiousness aside – for the moment at least – there is another, more serious factor driving our reappraisal of brussels sprouts: their health credentials. “Given the current health crisis, it’s no surprise that consumers are more health conscious than ever – particularly when it comes to issues like weight management, digestive health and immune function,” says Hejazi. “Many are looking to introduce more healthy choices into their everyday diet – and sprouts are a great option as they are low in calories, but rich in essential nutrients and vitamins (including vitamins C and K).” After a nearly century spent in pursuit of sweetness, with fruit and vegetables alike selected and bred for a sweet-toothed consumer, the benefits more bitter green vegetables bring to the body are becoming more widely recognised. Yet as anyone who has tried a shot of wheatgrass or spoonful of bee pollen will testify, the tastebuds cannot be led by nutrition alone.  

“I’ve noticed that people have become more accustomed to bitter foods,” says chef Chantelle Nicholson, “and I think what’s done it is gin and tonic.” With the rising popularity of gin, campari and vermouth, “bitterness has come full circle” – which is good news for the deep-fried brussels sprouts on the menu at her recently opened Hackney restaurant All’s Well. Served with Maldon salt and a spritz of Belazu balsamic vinegar, they have become something of a signature dish – though they were born years ago, out of a mishap. “One Christmas at Tredwell’s” – Nicholson’s other restaurant, in Covent Garden – “we were serving a big group and realised at the last minute we’d forgotten the sprouts. We just needed to cook them as quick as possible, so we dumped them in the fryer. 

“They were delicious, and we’ve served them like that ever since.” They are her gateway sprouts: a dish to convert even the most ardent of haters. “People say they don’t like sprouts, and we say you haven’t tried these sprouts. You’ll like them,” she laughs. Sure enough, nine times out of 10, they do.

The funny thing – and the factor perhaps fuelling the vegetable’s rebranding – is that that the brussels sprout stigma is by no means universal. In Germany they are often served as a side dish coddled in cheese and potatoes. In Netherlands (the country that named them) they come mashed with bacon lardons, butter, herbs and potatoes again (this is northern Europe, after all). “I remember in New York seeing them on the menu everywhere,” recalls Nicholson. “They don’t have the same associations there as here.” People moving to the UK free of the bias against brussels sprouts regard the little vegetable in much the same light as they would a cabbage – and cook it accordingly.

They crop up in coleslaw, courtesy of Nadiya Hussain. Meera Sodha remembers her grandmother serving them in an achari curry: a tradition she has continued. In Glasgow Scottish Italian chef Nico Simeone serves sprout tops with ewes cheese and chanterelle mushroom at his restaurant Six by Nico, while in London, Ravinder Bhogal is dishing up sprouts with chestnuts, hot and sour, and bonito at her restaurant Jikoni. I don’t have the data to back this up, but I firmly believe Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Simple will one day be regarded as a pivotal point for the beleaguered vegetable. No one could eat his sprouts pan fried with black garlic, burnt butter and drizzled with tahini and fail to be persuaded that, done well, sprouts are one of the best vegetables going.  

You don’t need me to tell you how to do them well. Every December brings a flurry of “top 10 brussels sprouts tips”. Yet should googling “brussels sprout recipes” be beyond you, here are some golden rules. “The one thing I tell everyone who asks me about cooking sprouts is don't ever boil them! Brussels sprouts have such a fantastic sweet flavour so they are best fried in a pan or roasted in the oven,” says Zoe Simons, Waitrose senior development chef. “Another great tip is that brussels sprouts can also be slow roasted – they become quite umami-like and caramelised,” says Rose Ashby, head chef at the Skye Gyngell’s restaurant Spring. “Just keep them the hell away from water,” says chef and restaurateur Adam Handling.  

It’s unlikely of course that 2020 will be remembered as the year the brussels sprout became cool. But it is, for many, the year that we really learnt to appreciate food and the joy of small things.