Brussels sprouts are a customer favorite, says Mark Capps of Straight From the Backyard Farm in Loganville.
“They are our best-selling vegetable in the winter months. Our customers look forward to them all year,” Capps said. He planted about 1,800 plants last fall and put in 600 plants in early February.
It’s not just the sprouts themselves, which look like miniature cabbages, but the big leaves along the stalk that are becoming a requested treat.
“The leaves have much of the same sweet flavor of the sprouts and can be cooked like greens or used like a cabbage roll. I think the sprouts offer a healthy and versatile vegetable when many other crops are fizzing out in the winter months. They seem to have their kids eating them, which is a great change to see. I know when I grew up, almost no kids would eat the healthy sprouts,” he said.
Capps and Lynn Teddlie of Straight From the Backyard Farm in Loganville have been bringing Brussels sprouts to market for three years, although Capps has been growing them at home for more than 10 years. Until spring, Straight From the Backyard Farm can be found at the Saturday morning Marietta Square Farmers Market and the Emory Farmers Market on Tuesdays.
Capps grows about 10 different varieties with maturity dates that range from 90 to 160 days. By staggering plantings and types, he can offer Brussels sprouts from the end of October through March. Fall planting offers a more dependable crop than Brussels sprouts planted in the spring, when the weather may warm up too quickly for the plants to produce the little cabbages.
He says Brussels sprouts are a tough crop to grow in some ways and easy in others. The plants need cool weather to develop tight, sweet sprouts, but they need warm weather and longer days to produce sprouts of a good size. He finds the best time to plant is between late July and early August, and that once established, the plants have fewer disease and pest issues than many other crops growing at that time of year.
The plants are fairly cold tolerant. This year’s punishing winter, with many successive days of below-freezing temperatures, injured some of his uncovered plants, but the covered ones survived fine.
“The real drawback of Brussels sprouts is that they do not make a tremendous amount of pounds per plant. Their average is around 1.1 pounds. Brussels sprouts are quite difficult to pick, unless you are taking up the whole plant. Each sprout has to be snapped off by hand, and when it’s cold, it’s rough on the hands. The plants are fairly short in stature and have to be picked on our knees for much of the growth cycle,” Capps said.
When you get your hard-won sprouts home, Brussels sprouts are good keepers. Kept close to 32 degrees, they can hold for up to five weeks. Store them loosely wrapped in a paper or plastic bag in your crisper.
Capps likes to steam his sprouts and season with just with salt and pepper. He finds that’s the best way to retain color, texture and flavor. “Overcooking them really destroys them and produces those nasty mushy dark green sprouts you see in many places. I know a lot of customers caramelize them in stir-fries, and many others roast them in the oven,” he said.
For sale at local farmers markets
Vegetables: arugula, Asian greens, beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, collards, endive, escarole, frisee, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, olives, parsnips, radishes, rutabaga, spring onions, sweet potatoes, turnips
From local reports
Preserving Now’s Pickled Brussels Sprouts With Bacon Bits
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Makes: 3 pints (about 35 pickles)
Lyn Deardorff is an experienced canner and owner of Preserving Now, www.preservingnow.com, where she shares the joys of canning. She gave us this recipe, which she likes to serve as part of an antipasto platter, or sliced and served on greens as a salad. She also pairs them with goat cheese and her Tomato Jam for sandwiches. Make these pickles two or three weeks before you plan to serve them since Deardorff notes that pickles of any kind should sit for several weeks to marry the flavors.
6 cups water, divided, plus water for processing jars and lids
3 pint jars with canning lids and bands
2 strips thick-cut lean bacon
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds medium-size Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed (about 35 sprouts)
3 cups distilled white or apple cider vinegar (5 percent acidity solution)
Juice from one half lemon
3 cloves garlic (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
Prepare canning pot or large stockpot by filling with medium temperature water. If using a stockpot, add grate or heatproof trivet to bottom of pot in order for water to circulate freely around jars. (A canner comes with a grate.) Add jars to pot and bring to a boil. Hold at a boil until ready to use.
Place 2-part canning lids and bands in a small saucepan. Cover with water, and bring water just to a simmer. Hold at a simmer until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange bacon on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, drain bacon and reserve fat for another use. Crush bacon into small bits.
In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil over high heat. Add crushed bacon. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes to remove remaining fat. Drain bacon well and discard cooking water. Set bacon aside. You should have about 4 tablespoons.
While bacon is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine remaining 4 cups water and salt. Stir until salt dissolves, then add Brussels sprouts and let sit 10 minutes. Rinse well, removing any wilted or damaged outer leaves. Make a deep hole into the bottom of each sprout by using a sharp narrow-bladed knife, metal skewer or other object. This allows the pickling solution to fully saturate the sprout. Set prepared sprouts aside. Discard salt water.
In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar and lemon juice and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, remove hot jars from canner and place on a folded dish towel. Place 1 clove garlic and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if using) in each jar. Divide reserved bacon bits between jars.
Pack Brussels sprouts in jars leaving 1/2 inch room at the top. Pour hot vinegar solution into each jar. Remove any air bubbles, then add lids and bands. Put jars in stockpot or canner, making sure water covers jar by at least 1 inch. When water returns to a boil, boil jars for 10 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove hot jars from water bath and set on a folded dish towel to cool.
Check lids after 1 hour. Most two-piece lids will seal with a “pop” sound while they’re cooling. After cooling jars for 12 hours, remove the screw bands and press the middle of the lid with a finger or thumb. If the lid springs up when you release your finger, the lid is unsealed. Label jar with name and date and refrigerate.
If the lid has sealed, label jar with name and date and store in a cool, dark place.
Pickles will remain good for up to 1 year.
Per pickle: 17 calories (percent of calories from fat, 12), 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (trace saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 236 milligrams sodium.
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