Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and blanch
Remove all dead leaves from the Brussels sprouts and wash them well in cold water.
Blanch the sprouts in boiling water with 1¼ lbs of coarse sea salt and 4 lbs of baking soda for 3 minutes.
Can and process
Place the blanched sprouts in cans with hot brine made from 1½ lbs of coarse sea salt and 12½ gallons of water.
Process No. 2 cans for 35 minutes at 212°F (100°C).
Process No. 3 cans for 45 minutes at 212°F (100°C).
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Brussels sprouts
- The main vegetable, providing the bulk, texture and flavor of the finished dish.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's pH during blanching, which helps the sprouts keep a bright green color.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the sprouts and brine, adding flavor throughout the cooked vegetables.
The step that matters
Processing the cans. Brussels sprouts are low-acid vegetables, so they must be held at 212°F for the full time in the record. Shorter or cooler processing can leave spoilage microbes alive, and the sealed cans may then spoil.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More brussels sprouts recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.