This year, Asda customers are expected to eat their way through 105 million Brussels sprouts on Christmas Day.
To make sure there’s enough to go around the supermarket giant kicked-off their 24-hour harvest this week where laborers are expected to pick up to 150 tonnes of sprouts every day.
The £650 million Brussels sprout industry is aided by the festive season as Brits usually eat around one-third of all annually consumed sprouts at Christmas time.
The tireless effort to harvest enough sprouts for the entire country is necessary however as the UK is the biggest consumer of the small green vegetable in Europe.
Asda expert growers kicked-off their 24-hour harvest this week to make sure that there are enough Brussels sprouts for Brits on Christmas day
The harvesters will work from dusk til dawn to pick up to 150 tonnes each day using machines to gather the crop
Brussels sprouts were first grown in Belgium from the 13th century which is what gave them their name – but it is a little known fact that the ancient Romans grew them too.
The controversial vegetable – you either love them or hate them – comes in around 110 different varieties with last year’s favourites being Albarus, Brodie and Kryptus.
The colossal ground covered in the UK by sprout fields growing each variety of the vegetable is equivalent to 3,240 football pitches.
The supermarket’s customers are expected to consume around 105 million sprouts on Christmas day
Britain is the biggest consumer of Brussels sprouts per head than any other country in Europe and we are expected to eat on average a massive portion of 14 each on Christmas day
Brussels sprouts were grown in Belgium from the 13th century which is what gave them their name, though the ancient Romans grew them too
Harvesters know that the Brussels sprouts are ready to be eaten when the tiny heads are firm, green and one to two inches in diameter.
Sprouts first form at the bottom of the plant and continue forming toward the top for several weeks – growers can make sure that their crop will be ready at the same time by cutting the heads of the plant three weeks before harvest.
Supermarket shoppers will be pleased to hear that there are 9,000 ways to cook sprouts once they are harvested including boiled, sauteed, roasted and braised.
The Brussels sprout industry is worth around £650 million which is aided by the Christmas season where one third of all annually consumed sprouts are eaten
Expert-growers at Asda harvest their small round vegetables once they have turned green in colour and are between one to two inches in diameter
Sprouts come in around 110 different varieties with last year’s favourites being Albarus, Brodie and Kryptus.
Sprouts first form at the bottom of the plant and continue forming toward the top for several weeks
Growers can make sure that their crop will be ready at the same time by cutting the heads of the plant three weeks before harvest
Supermarket shoppers will be pleased to hear that there are 9,000 ways to cook sprouts once they are harvested including boiled, sautéed, roasted and braised