Yorkshire weather means sprouts taste sweeter

According to one grower, the North Yorkshire weather over recent months has led to the current crop of the vegetable having a sweeter flavour.

The tasting notes are explained by an unsettled autumn, followed cold and dry conditions this month, as Greg Penn, business development manager at Riverford Organic Farmers explained.

“A couple of years ago, we lost much of the sprout crop when we had an unseasonably warm Christmas. This year’s growing conditions have been pretty much perfect with the recent cold spells converting the vegetable’s starches into sugars bringing out a certain sweetness to this traditional festive vegetable.

“As an added benefit, the colder weather has had the effect of tightening the leaves on the sprouts, making them harder to overcook them on the big day itself.”

Mr Penn added: “Year on year, we experience increasing demand for our sprouts and this year we planted out more than six acres of sprouts back in March, much of which will be carefully harvested by hand over the next few days and sent out in our veg boxes to the whole of the North.”

The crop to be harvested this week at Riverford’s Home Farm near Newby Wiske, Northallerton will be used to stock Riverford’s seasonal vegetable boxes which will be dispatched to customers across the North of England.

Home Farm employs 20 staff and is supported by other organic farmers in the region.

The company has practiced organic farming in the UK for 30 years and operates three other farms across the country. Combined they produce and deliver vegetable boxes to more than 55,000 homes nationwide each week.