The capital of Belgium is Brussels, one of the largest cities in Europe. It is famous not only for its central square and the world-famous sculpture of a peeing boy, but also for the fact that a delicious vegetable - Brussels sprouts - is named after the city.
Brussels sprouts
Despite its original appearance, Brussels sprouts are certainly one of the plant species belonging to the cabbage family, along with the common white cabbage, which is well known in Russia. In the process of growth, Brussels sprouts form a thick stem, 30 to 150 centimeters in height, on which small heads of cabbage are formed, very reminiscent of reduced copies of standard cabbage heads. On one such stem, depending on the variety and weather conditions, from 20 to 60 heads of cabbage the size of a walnut can form.
At the same time, Brussels sprouts are one of the most useful types of this plant, since it contains a large amount of vitamins, including vitamins A, E, PP and others. It is noteworthy that the content of vitamin C in this type of cabbage is so significant that it even exceeds the same indicator for an orange: for example, if 100 grams of an orange contains 53.2 milligrams of this vitamin, but 100 grams of Brussels sprouts contains 85 milligrams.
In addition, Brussels sprouts are rich in minerals, including zinc, iodine, manganese, sodium and others. However, the content of these elements is a common characteristic of various representatives of the cabbage family, so we can say that, surpassing them in terms of the content of vitamins, Brussels sprouts are not inferior to them in terms of the content of minerals.
Name history
Brussels sprouts, unlike some other representatives of the cabbage family, are not a natural species: they were artificially bred by humans in the 18th century. For the first time, this cabbage began to be grown and bred in various regions of Belgium, including the capital of this country - Brussels. That is why, in the process of studying and describing it, the Swedish botanist Karl Linnaeus named it after this city.
The Belgians highly appreciated this honor, and since then, Brussels sprouts, along with Belgian waffles and Belgian chocolate, have become one of the symbols of the country. For example, in one of the programs dedicated to the competition of intellectuals, the prize given to the winner is in the form of Brussels sprouts.
However, there is another name for this plant in the world, which was invented in Germany. In this country, it is called "rosenkol", which can be translated into Russian as "cabbage-rose". This name is based on the external resemblance of Brussels sprouts to rosebuds. Nevertheless, this name has received much less distribution.
