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Topics: Christmas, Food And Drink, UK News
Joe Harker
When it comes to Christmas dinner there's one bit of veg in particular you'll probably have on the big day and then not at all for the rest of the year, and that's Brussels sprouts.
For some reason these tiny little cabbages have ended up being one of the most diligently observed Christmas traditions in the UK, the only point of difference most households have is whether to cut little crosses into the bottom of each sprout for cooking.
However, one thing lots of people have trouble with is what they're actually called, with plenty naming them 'brussel sprouts' when their proper name is 'Brussels sprout'.
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If you've been getting it wrong all this time then boy oh boy do you have some considerable egg on your face, even if the improper name is easier to say as you're not trying to cram four s's into six consecutive letters in the name.
It's a tricky name to say and easy to get wrong, but now you know and if there's anything cartoons I watched when I was younger taught me (apart from the dangers of quicksand) that's half the battle.
Now if you hear someone making the same mistake over Christmas dinner you can lean over and correct them in front of your entire family.
Even if we can't always get their name right we do like having them around during the festive season, as shortages and lorries full of them tipping over and spilling their precious cargo are a national disaster.
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Having been such a staple of the classic Christmas dinner for so long, it's only natural that some places would decide to put their own spin on the humble little vegetable.
A few years back Iceland started selling Marmite flavoured Brussels sprouts in an attempt to get them back on everyone's plate on Christmas Day, though I'm not sure it worked all that well.
Of all the ingredients in Christmas dinner it's sprouts that are probably the most controversial and unpopular, as plenty of people don't like them and wonder why they must intrude upon one of the most important meals of the year.
Sprouts are so iconic that Walkers actually released a 'Brussels sprout' flavour of crisps a few years back, and so unpopular that they also brought out a 'sprout haters' range alongside it.
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As for how Brussels sprouts actually got their name, the French started calling them that back in the 18th Century and it's probably because they were grown near the Belgian city of Brussels.
There are records of them being grown near the city as far back as the 13th Century, so it's a fair guess that the vegetables owe their name to the major European city, even though there are records of them being grown in Europe as far back as the 5th Century.
Despite their seemingly Belgian name of origin, the actual largest producer of Brussels sprouts in the world is the Netherlands, though the UK also grows plenty of the veg.