Gen Z makes Brussels sprouts cool! Sales increase by 150% at Waitrose as chilli and honey dishes are shared on Tiktok and trendy restaurants put them on the menu

Uncategorized

Once seen as a sad, soggy side to a turkey main course, Brussels sprouts are officially back on trend because Gen Z has called them cool.

Despite being one of the most controversial Christmas dinners in generations, British supermarket Waitrose has witnessed a whopping 150 percent increase in sales compared to this time last year.

Their revival comes after a 2021 survey conducted by Tesco found that almost one in four people aged 18 to 24 said they hate Brussels sprouts.

Two years on, Waitrose has predicted the rise in Brussels sprout sales will continue through Christmas and beyond. And it’s not just Waitrose that has witnessed a rebirth of the cabbage-like dish, but also through social media.

Pickled, roasted, smashed – you name it, Gen Z has been sharing their fashionable recipes to decorate the humble sprout – and it seems to be working as 92.7 million people have searched on TikTok for ways to serve the vegetable.

Brussels sprouts have recently seen a resurgence and TikTok content creators have been sharing their favorite recipes. Above, Balle Hurns is seen filming a recipe for smashed Brussels sprouts.

Trendy restaurants have incorporated the dish into their holiday additions, such as Marugame Udon’s Brussel Sprout Tempura, and amateur food influencers are sharing their ways to spice up the dish.

Home cooks are also looking for new recipes, and Waitrose.com found that searches for ‘shredded Brussels sprouts’ recipes increased by 607 percent month on month and 65 percent year on year.

Sam Witherington, vegetable buyer at Waitrose, told FEMAIL: ‘Brussels sprouts were once sent to Christmas lunch, overcooked and under-loved.

‘But in recent years, as the sprout finds its way onto restaurant menus, home cooks are also getting creative.

‘If you can believe the current sales of Brussels sprouts, it will be a top year for Brussels.’

Brands are also tapping into it. Cereal company SURREAL, which has launched a limited edition festive Brussels sprouts cereal just in time for Christmas.

SURREAL’s Brussels Sprout Cereal has suitably festive green hoops, with a taste that the company claims is comparable to ‘honey-roasted Brussels sprouts’.

SURREAL co-founder Kit Gammell said: “Christmas is a time of peace, joy and indulgence. Luckily for those who feel like they need a break from the endless pigs-in-blankets and cream-on-everything, our grain scientists have been back in the lab experimenting. What they have come up with is definitely divisive.”

One TikTok influencer created Brussels sprouts as a crunchy snack covered in breadcrumbs. Pictured above is Maya Leinenbach

Another influencer enjoyed the vegetables with minimal changes and simply dipped them in the gravy. Pictured above is @ggflavour

Food content creator @cookiterica enjoyed her pickled Brussels sprouts and quickly went back for a second helping

London brand Sauce Shop also has Brussels Sprout Ketchup, while drinks company Pickering’s makes a Brussels Sprout Gin.

Hovis’ research further consolidated Brussels sprouts’ revival.

Recipe for Brussels sprouts, chestnuts and pancetta

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts, four per person or more if you are a sprout lover
Five slices of pancetta, cut into squares
Eight peeled chestnuts
20 g butter
A pinch of se salt

Method

Cut all Brussels sprouts in half and discard any outer damaged leaves
Blanch them in boiling water for just two minutes, being careful not to overcook them
In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, add the pancetta squares
Add the Brussels sprouts to the pan together with the butter
Once the Brussels sprouts are colored and fully cooked, add the chestnuts and heat through
Keep warm until ready to use

Source: Chef Mark Greenaway of Pivot at 3 Henrietta Street

The company surveyed the public on their favorite Christmas sandwich fillings and found that a whopping 60 percent of Brits were in favor of Brussels sprouts in their sarnie.

Proving that Brussels sprouts aren’t just for Christmas, food influencers have also shared their creative recipes to dress up the vegetable.

In a examplea Gen Z food influencer combines smashed Brussels sprouts with Sriracha, maple syrup and olive oil to create an Asian dish.

Elsewhere a vegan food influencer topped the vegetable bread crumbs to create a dish that even the biggest Brussels sprout haters might like.

And another kept it simple by having a huge bowl of green vegetables dipped in Bisto gravy.

One influencer teased her viewers with a taste test of Brussels picked Brussels sprouts – and she quickly went in for a second helping.

It comes after farmers thought they have found a way to get people to love Brussels sprouts – by making sure they are all the same size so they can be cooked evenly.

To help them pick sprouts to match, bosses at R&K Drysdale, one of Britain’s largest brassica growers, have invested in a high-tech sorting machine, nicknamed the ‘sproutatron’.

Drysdale has partnered with Tesco to supply around 70 per cent of its sprouts and uses the machine – which looks like the kind of gadget that could have come out of a Wallace & Gromit film – to precisely size the sprouts at the touch of a button. to make.

They have a more consistent pack size, making the cooking process more even.

It means an end to the lottery where some people get small, overcooked, soggy Brussels sprouts, while others crunch through the tougher large Brussels sprouts.

New milder and sweeter varieties have also been introduced, most notably Cobelius.

A Tesco survey shows that the number of 18 to 24 year olds claiming to ‘love Brussels sprouts’ has risen from 26 per cent in 2021 to 44 per cent this year.

The ‘sproutatron’ works by taking eight photos of each sprout as it moves along the conveyor belt and rating them at a predetermined size.

And it can take pictures of 25 sprouts per second. The computer-controlled sorting machine then identifies all sprouts of the same size.

Pivot’s Mark Greenway recommends adding pancetta and chestnuts to the cabbage-like vegetable (photo)

Brussels Sprouts with Maple Pecans Recipe

Ingredients

Two dozen Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
Two tablespoons. olive oil
One tbsp. butter
255 g pecan halves
Two tablespoons. pure maple syrup (preferably amber syrup for its rich flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Add oil to skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add the Brussels sprouts. Cook for about eight to 10 minutes, stirring quite often, or until the Brussels sprouts are nicely browned and tender-crisp.
Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the butter and pecans. Cook for four to five minutes.
Stir in the maple syrup and cook for about a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Source- Maple

One recipe adds a sweet twist to Brussels sprouts (photo) and adds maple syrup and peanuts

These are sent to the same lane for processing. This means that the sprouts in bags are all the same size.

Tesco produce buyer Sam Miller said: ‘The latest technology means our customers can buy some of the tastiest and freshest sprouts.

‘These machines speed up the sorting process, drastically reducing the time it takes to get the sprouts from the field to our shelves.’

Gavin Milne, managing director of Drysdale – based in Cockburnspath, Scotland – said: ‘We work closely with seed houses on variety development and flavour, with the aim of eliminating varieties that are more bitter than others.’

About 25 percent of the annual consumption of Brussels sprouts takes place at Christmas. Tesco expects to sell around 1.5 million kilos of sprouts in the two weeks before the big day.

They were so named after they became popular in the Belgian capital in the 16th century, but are originally from Iran and Afghanistan