What are the two trendiest vegetables in the food world? Probably Brussels sprouts and kale. So I guess it was only a matter of time before the BRUSSELKALE was invented. Don’t get me wrong, I do love both of these vegetables, but is it really necessary? It kind of feels like they’re just capitalizing on the crazy popularity of these veg. Kind of like when pomegranate became the new antioxidant superfood then there was pomegranate-flavored everything.
I guess I’m not the first person to realize this is now a thing. Today did a story on Brusselkale, too. It even called it the “Brangelina of veggies” (ugh, barf, just… no, Today. No.) Here’s the gist:
Kale sprouts, aka BrusselKale, are yes, a hybrid of Brussels sprouts and Russian Red kale, and starting to pop up in U.S. grocery stores.
Developed in the U.K. using old-fashioned breeding techniques, kale sprouts (or flower sprouts, as they are known there) look like flowering buds, with green-and-purple leaves. Brussels sprouts are big in the U.K., especially around the holidays, so British seed house Tozer Seeds set out to create a more subtle-tasting sprout, Lisa Friedrich, U.S. spokesperson for Tozer, told TODAY.com.
While new hybrid veggies come out all the time—think purple haze carrots—the kale sprout “is the most distinctive one we’ve seen since broccolini launched in 1999,” Bob Whitaker, chief science officer for the Produce Marketing Association, told TODAY.com.
Are they trying to sell me something I don’t need? After all, I can cook myself Brussels sprouts and/or kale on their own. I guess I can try it on my own and decide for sure, but when I saw these in the store I didn’t really feel like paying $10/lb for them, when kale and Brussels on their own are so much cheaper. Have any of you tried this Brangelina veg? What do you think?