What Are Brussels Sprouts?
Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea; Gemmifera Group) look and taste like tiny cabbages, with a diameter of about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Known to the French as choux de Bruxelles, Brussels sprouts are hugely popular in Great Britain, where consumption far exceeds that of the United States. The exact origins of Brussels sprouts are unknown, but history places the vegetable in Brussels, Belgium, sometime in the sixteenth century. Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing Brussels sprouts to the United States. He brought the plant to Virginia from Paris in 1821.
