Brussels sprouts is a vegetable with a flavor like that of mild cabbage. It is related to cabbage and cauliflower, and is cooked for food. The plant sends up a tall stalk along which the sprouts grow in the axils at the base of the leaves. The earliest sprouts form near the ground. Later in the season, others appear farther up the stalk. Each sprout looks like a tiny head of cabbage. Some hybrid plants have been produced that have more uniformly developed sprouts to allow them to be harvested more efficiently.
Brussels sprouts are a good source of vitamins A, B, and C. The sprouts have the same food value as cabbage does. However, they are more expensive than cabbage.
People gather the sprouts by snapping or twisting them off the stalk. Several harvests can be made in succession from one plant. The plants do best where the growing season is long and cool.
