January 31: Eat Brussels Sprouts Day

It's Eat Brussels Sprouts Day. Here's everything you need to know about Brussels sprouts.

1. Brussels sprouts are originally thought to have come from Iran and Afghanistan, and were grown in ancient Rome, but they got their name because they were grown in Belgium (the capital of which is Brussels) from the 13th century.
2. The Latin name for them is Brassica oleracea, and they belong to the same family as Cabbage, kale and Broccoli.
3. In Continental Europe, the largest producers are the Netherlands, at 82,000 metric tons, and Germany, at 10,000 tons. The area covered by Brussels sprout fields in the UK is equivalent to 3,240 Football pitches, but we don't export them so much since British people are the biggest consumers of sprouts. A third of the sprouts we eat in the UK are consumed around Christmas time; and one in twenty of the sprouts eaten in Britain come from one farm in East Yorkshire where 175 million are produced every year.
4. They're very good for you. An 80g serving of sprouts contains four times more Vitamin C than an Orange; they are also an excellent source of vitamin K, folate, manganese, vitamin B6, fibre, choline, Copper, vitamin B1, Potassium, phosphorus, and omega-3 fatty acids. A cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains about 60 calories.
5. The ancient Chinese recommended sprouts as a treatment for bowel problems.
6. That said, people taking anticoagulants such as warfarin need to consume with care as vitamin K plays a role in blood clotting. An Ayrshire man on anticoagulant medication was rushed to hospital in 2014 suffering from a Brussels sprout overdose.
7. There are more than 110 different varieties of sprouts, including Albarus, Brodie and Kryptus. Some sprouts are Red in colour, and are sold in a mixed bag with the Green ones at Christmas.
8. There are some Brussels sprout Guinness World Records. Bernard Lavery, of Llanharry in Rhondda Cynon Taff grew a record breaking sprout in 1992 which weighed 8.3kg (18lb/3oz), the heaviest ever. Linus Urbanec from Sweden holds the current world record for the most Brussels sprouts eaten in one minute. He swallowed 31 on November 26, 2008. TV presenter Esther Rantzen once tried to break the world record for eating the most sprouts – but only managed five.
9. Stuart Kettell rolled a Brussels sprout up Mount Snowdon using only his nose, to raise money for charity. Actually, it was 20 different sprouts, and the feat took him four days and 22 hours.
10. Brussels sprouts aren't everyone's cup of tea. Some people hate them, and the reason for this is most probably genetic. Sprouts contain a chemical, similar to phenylthiocarbamide, which tastes bitter to people with a gene known as TAS2R38. The fact that if sprouts are overcooked they give off a smell like rotten eggs doesn't help.

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