Brussels Sprouts

Including red Brussels sprouts (Rubine)

The origins of Brussels sprouts are lost in the mist—the coastal atmosphere in which they flourish. Although “it is assumed that” they developed around Brussels and it is often stated that they “probably first appeared in the 13th century,” proof is lacking. E. L. Sturtevant wrote, in Sturtevant’s Edible Plants of the World (edited by U. P. Hedrick), “Authors have stated that brussels sprouts [note that he does not commit himself to a capital B, which would denote the city] have been grown from time immemorial about Brussels, in Belgium; but if this be so, it is strange that they escaped the notice of the early botanists, who would have certainly noticed a common plant of such striking appearance.” Reliable 20th-century botanical texts date the development of Brussels sprouts from the late 18th century and the early 19th century.