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Some of my sprouts have a cabbage like head on the top of them.... is it good to eat, and if so when is best to take it, early in the season or late?
Ta.. chrisc

Oh, it's the best bit of the plant!!

Pick as soon as it's got a bit of heart. They say that removing it removes frost protection but I've always eaten them!

Don't overcook.

I love brussel tops, makes a wonderful bubble & sqeak  ;D

Oh, no - enjoy them as they are!!

Many thanks Tim adn LD...I wonder if B+S freezes.... I do like a bit but there's no point in trying to make 1 portion.....

chrisc

Yes it does - do it in portion sizes!

In fact I had already removed teh tops (and scoffed them, just treat as cabbage) and i have noticed that this time I have loads of good sprouts around the top of the plant where I lopped them off! It seems to have had some kind of effect on the sprouting.
Ate our first sprouts for the year last week, they were beaut, there just weren't enough for now! Patience, patience...  :)

There are always a lot of miniscule sprouts just under the top. Given a chance, they grow on, but they mostly go with the top when that's cut.

Quote from: tim on November 25, 2010, 11:50:34
There are always a lot of miniscule sprouts just under the top. Given a chance, they grow on, but they mostly go with the top when that's cut.

The tiny baby sprouts are worth scraping off the stalk and cooking with the tops - delicious.

I leave any mini sprouts till the Spring, when they form delicious brussel shoots for an early taste of Spring greens.

it's my 1st attempt at growing brussel sprouts, and I think they have "blown" so at least with the tops I'll get something to eat !!
Mind you they always sell them at my local greengrocers, they make a nice dish fried up with onions, garlic and ginger  ;)

1066 - did you sample the 'blown' ones?  All might not be lost  :)  I find some of the varieties perfectly nice blown and others not.  I can't say which because they're all jumbled up.

I absolutely agree tops are the tops though!

not yet - and I'm not sure when I'll get there now. probably some time in January......

Sometimes, even if some are blown, others come out ok later in the game. The first ones on my stalks were very small and some were blown, but now the newer ones that are forming around the top of the stalk are very nice indeed. I have already eaten well over a pound of sprouts, now I have to wait for everything to defrost a bit before picking some more!!

aaahhhh, so there's hope yet !

My sprouts were frozen solid so I pulled up one whole plant and having chopped off the root put the stem the fridge to degrost.  A week later the sprouts are still looking good though nearly all eaten now.

Cook very slow the taste is  great nice with beef and yorkshire pudding. Rugbypost

Quote from: rugbypost on December 08, 2010, 20:20:35
Cook very slow the taste is  great nice with beef and yorkshire pudding. Rugbypost

Everything tastes vile with beef..... because of the beef.... (I'm a veggie :D)

chrisc