Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts and cut across the stalk.
Soak the sprouts in salted water.
Cook and serve
Place the sprouts in boiling water with salt and a pinch of carbonate of soda.
Cook gently uncovered until tender.
Drain well in a colander.
Arrange neatly in a hot vegetable dish.
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
- Form the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender, edible texture.
- Carbonate of soda
- Raises the water's alkalinity, helping the sprouts keep a bright green colour while cooking.
The step that matters
Cook gently uncovered until tender. Vigorous boiling can break the sprouts apart and make them mushy, while gentle cooking brings them evenly to tenderness. Cooking uncovered lets volatile sulfur compounds, which give a strong cabbage-like smell, escape rather than concentrate in the pan.
“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.
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