Farmers believe they have found a technique to convince young people to enjoy Brussels sprouts by ensuring that they are uniform in size so they can be cooked equally.
R&K Drysdale, one of the major brassica farmers in the United Kingdom, has invested in high-tech grading equipment, dubbed the “sproutatron,” to assist them to select sprouts of the same size and shape.
Working with Tesco to supply almost 70 percent of its sprouts, Drysdale utilizes a machine like something from a Wallace & Gromit film to precisely size the sprouts with the stroke of a button.
They will be more uniformly sized in packets, making cooking more uniform.
It eliminates the chance that some individuals would receive small, overdone, and mushy sprouts, while others will receive larger, crisper sprouts.
Additionally, new milder and sweeter kinds, including Cobelius, have been introduced.
According to a survey conducted by Tesco, the percentage of 18-to-24-year-olds who profess to ‘love’ sprouts has increased from 26% in 2021 to 44% this year.
The’sproutatron evaluates the size of each sprout as it goes along the conveyor belt by taking eight images of each sprout.
Additionally, it can photograph 25 sprouts every second. The computerized grader then determines which sprouts are identical in size.
These are routed down the same processing lane. It indicates that when the sprouts are bagged, their sizes are uniform.
Sam Miller, a Tesco produce buyer, stated, “Thanks to cutting-edge technology, our consumers will have access to some of the best-tasting and freshest sprouts available.
These machines expedite the grading process, which significantly reduces the amount of time required to get sprouts from the field to our stores.
Gavin Milne, general manager of Drysdale located in Cockburnspath, Scotland, stated, “We work closely with seed houses on varietal development and taste to eradicate bitter cultivars.”
Christmas accounts for around 25 percent of the annual consumption of Brussels sprouts. Tesco anticipates selling approximately 1.5 million kilograms (3.3 million pounds) of sprouts in the two weeks preceding the holiday.
They are so named because they became famous in the 16th century in the Belgian capital, but they originated in Iran and Afghanistan.
