My kids love Brussels Sprouts but they might just be a conduit for the butter we serve with them. As a kid, I was not eating Brussels sprouts with or without butter. Now I love them and my wife made some for Thanksgiving that could be the best variation I’ve ever enjoyed. I’ll share that with you next post.

As you will learn from this fantastic article by contributing writer Chef Mark Vogel, most American Brussels sprouts come from California and most of them are sold in the frozen section of your market. I guess these are good in casseroles and soups but if you are going to serve them by themselves, you have to look for fresh sprouts. The difference is night and day.

Thanks Mark for the history of the Brussels sprout and your recipe for serving them with Bacon, Dried Fruits & Almonds. - RG

When Did Brussels Sprout?

It never ceases to amaze me how many foods and classic recipes have histories embroiled in mystery, controversy and general contrariety.  Most of the time when researching a particular comestible, I find myself lost in a universe of permutations.

Consider the etiology of something as seemingly simple as the Brussels sprout.  After reviewing five textbooks, an encyclopedia, and a well known food history website*, I was able to determine that Brussels sprouts originated in Europe in either the 5th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th century.  Well that narrows it down.

What is known is that cabbage, the ancestor of Brussels sprouts, is indigenous to the Mediterranean and has been cultivated for at least 2,500 years.  Cherished by the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was propagated by the latter throughout Europe.

Whatever the temporal period, Brussels sprouts were cultivated in Belgium and hence were eponymously named after its capital city.  The French introduced them to Louisiana in 1800.  Today most American Brussels sprouts hail from California and end up in frozen products.  Ironically, despite their Belgian roots, the Netherlands are the key producer in Europe.

Brussels sprouts have an unjust reputation for mawkishness.  Many people who dislike them have only been exposed to improperly stored or cooked Brussels sprouts.  While I’m sure some will recoil even under the best circumstances, you owe it to yourself to revisit them under ideal conditions.

First they must be fresh.  Brussels sprouts grow on stalks and sometimes supermarkets will sell them with the stalks attached.  Clearly this is preferable.  If sold loose or worse yet, in pre-wrapped packages, inspect them carefully.  If the leaves are yellow, discolored or loose, or if the root ends are brown or appear dry, avoid them altogether.

If possible, choose smaller specimens as they are tenderer than their big brothers.  Once purchased, endeavor to use them promptly.  Do not hold them beyond three days in the fridge or they can develop off flavors.  On yet another disparate note, some sources advise storing them in a plastic bag and others do not.  Just use them expediently and bypass this contention.

Next is how and with what to cook them.  Brussels sprouts can be cooked by water via steaming or boiling but as with most foods, dry heat methods such as roasting, sautéing, broiling, or even grilling is best.  Water leeches flavor (not to mention vitamins and antioxidants), and cannot produce the intensity of flavor that dry heat methods can.

Indisputably Brussels sprouts are most sumptuous when combined with a rich pork product such as bacon, prosciutto, or pancetta.  Or try sautéing them in chicken or duck fat.  Another decadent alternative is to cook them in a gratin smothered by butter and cheese.

Quite simply, their stouter essence marries harmoniously with luxurious ingredients.  This is not merely due to the fatty sidekick, but the synchronicity achieved between the flavors of the Brussels sprouts and the fat.  Finally, avoid overcooking them.  As with all forms of cabbage, excessive cooking generates malodorous compounds.

Brussels sprouts are rich in fiber, folic acid, and vitamins A and C.  They are a cruciferous vegetable, i.e., a family of veggies that are reputed to have anti-cancer properties.  Others include mustard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, rutabagas, turnips, chard, and kale.

Brussels sprouts are best served with more robust fare such as red meat or roasted pork and poultry.  However, if your palate is amenable, they can be very thinly sliced and served raw in salads.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Dried Fruits & Almonds

• ¼ cup dried cherries
• ¼ cup currants
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 lb. Brussels sprouts
• 8 slices bacon, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup slivered almonds
• A splash of balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Olive oil as needed

How to Prepare at Home

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Place the cherries and currants in a small saucepan and add the wine.  Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat.  Let the fruit steep in the hot wine for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile trim the Brussels sprouts.  First make a thin slice off the root end.  Then cut them in half vertically discarding any outer leaves that fall off naturally.  Remove any remaining outer leaves that are discolored.  If any of them are notably larger than the rest, cut them into quarters.  Once cut, wash them by submerging them in a bowl of water and then drain and pat dry.

Combine all of the ingredients except the oil in a bowl and toss.  Add the olive oil in increments and stir, adding just enough to evenly but lightly coat everything.  Remember the bacon will render its drippings.  Place everything in a baking dish and place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the sprouts reach your desired tenderness.

*References

Herbst, Sharon Tyler. Food Lover’s Companion.  New York.  Barron’s, 2001
McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984
McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking.  New York: Scribner, 2004
Morton, Mark. Cupboard Love.  Toronto.  Insomniac Press, 2004
Toussaint-Samat.  History of Food.  Barnes & Noble Books, 2003
The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. Chicago:  Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 1988
Fooodtimeline.org

Chef Mark R. Vogel

As a home cook who has never been to culinary school and has been teaching myself to cook for as long as I’ve been posting on the Internet, I am always thrilled to learn something new from my professional chef friends.

It is why I started The Reluctant Gourmet web site in the first place and as long as I continue to learn, I will keep finding new and interesting topics to write about or ask my chef friends to explain what I don’t understand.

Saying that, I am thrilled to post this enlightening post from Chef Mark Vogel about Worcestershire Sauce or as we call it in our family, “What’s This Here Sauce” and how he uses it in his braised brisket of beef recipe.

What I love about Mark’s recipes is the way he looks at the history either of the recipe itself or some ingredient used in the preparation.

Most of us have used Worcestershire Sauce in some dish they have prepared. Growing up there was always a bottle on the table when my mom served beef stew. When I make beef stew now and add a few drops to my plate, it takes me right back to my childhood. Funny how some foods do that to you.

I think you will enjoy this history of Worcestershire Sauce and the following recipe for braised brisket of beef and would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

How do you use Worcestershire Sauce?

What foods bring back memories from you childhood?

The City of Worcester - England That Is

Worcester is the principal city in Worcestershire County in the West Midlands of England.  Bifurcated by the River Severn, it has a population of about 100,000.  Inhabited since at least Neolithic times, it eventually became a Roman hub of trade and manufacturing.

Worcester played a key role in the English Revolution, (1642-1651).  King Charles I was overthrown and beheaded in 1649.  His son, Charles II endeavored to wrest control back from the Parliamentarians and restore the monarchy.

That didn’t go so well.  In the Battle of Worcester in 1651, Charles II’s Cavaliers were defeated, thus marking the denouement of the English revolution.  Worcester had remained loyal to the king.  To immortalize its fealty it was proclaimed “The Faithful City,” a motto now embodied in its coat of arms.

A Little History on Worcestershire Sauce

Worcester is also the home, but not necessarily the origin of Worcestershire sauce.  Here we go with another culinary mystery, rife with alternative accounts and “depends on who you ask” explanations. John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, a pair of successful Worcester chemists, are credited with concocting Worcestershire sauce in 1837, (other sources site 1835 or 1838).  It was commercially available to the public by the next year and obviously became a huge success.  Some sources allege that it was developed in India.

Others claim that its rudimental recipe originated in India but was then modified and/or fabricated into Worcestershire sauce by Lea and Perrins.  Recountals of who, and under what circumstances, its building blocks were introduced to Lea and Perrins vary.

The Lea & Perrins brand, clearly the market dominator, was purchased by the H.J. Heinz Co. in 2005.  According to their label it is made from vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, anchovies, water, onions, salt, tamarind, cloves, natural flavorings and chili peppers.  The precise ratio of the ingredients, the arcane “natural flavorings,” and the specifics of how it’s made remain a secret.

What About Those Secret Ingredients?

I called Heinz and spoke to one of their media representatives and specifically queried about the nature of their “natural flavorings.”  Their lips were sealed.  They did offer however that Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is still made in Worcester.

Whatever the history or the recipe, Worcestershire sauce has a distinctive and savory flavor that adds an alluring dimension to many dishes.  Worcestershire capitalizes on umami, now recognized as the fifth basic taste along with salty, bitter, sour, and sweet.  All of these tastes have specific receptor cells on the tongue.

Umami, somewhat ineffable, has been described as brothy, meaty, and/or savory.  Worcestershire is used on all kinds of meats as well as marinades, sauces, stews, Caesar salad, bloody Marys and countless other preparations.

Below is my recipe for braised brisket of beef which employs Worcestershire sauce.  Brisket is a cut of beef below the shoulder; basically the upper front leg.  Brisket is the home of traditional corned beef and pastrami, but is also suitable for pot roast, which a braised brisket of beef basically is.

Like chuck, it is a tougher, albeit highly flavorful cut of meat.  It is rendered succulent by braising, i.e., slow cooking in fluid for a protracted period of time.

Braised brisket is a traditional Jewish dish although it can be found in cuisines the world over.  You can purchase a whole brisket which will yield 10-15 lbs.  If you’re not feeding an army brisket also comes in its component cuts, the first cut and the front cut.  If you’re a fat-phobe opt for the leaner first cut.  If you’re more about decadence and richer flavor, go with the front cut.

BRAISED BRISKET OF BEEF

• 4 lb. brisket
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Flour, as needed (optional)
• Vegetable oil, as needed
• 2 large Spanish onions, roughly chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 pint beef stock, plus extra if needed
• 8 oz. tomato sauce or canned tomatoes, chopped
• A splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 5-6 red potatoes, quartered
• 5 large carrots, cut into large chunks

How to Prepare at Home

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Liberally season the brisket with salt and pepper.  Some cooks also like to dust it with flour for a crisper external texture and to add a modicum of thickening to the fluid but this is not absolutely necessary.

In a large, heavy, oven-proof Dutch oven heat the oil.  Sear the brisket until well browned on each side.  Remove the meat and set aside.

Sauté the onion, adding more oil if necessary.  When the onion is almost done add the garlic and sauté one more minute.  Add the wine and deglaze.  Reduce the wine to about half.

Add the remaining ingredients except the potatoes and carrots.  Add additional salt and pepper.

Return the meat to the pot.  Cover and place in the oven for 2 hours and 15 minutes.  Then add the potatoes and carrots.  Check the fluid level in the pot.  If it looks low add some more stock.

Cook another 45 minutes or until the vegetables have reached your desired tenderness.

Chef Mark R. Vogel

Figs:  A Timeless Classic

The Carthaginian Empire arose in the 7th century B.C.  Their domain stretched across northern Africa, southern Spain, Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily.  A highly commercialized civilization, the Carthaginians endured for approximately 500 years.  They may have prospered even longer had it not been for one little fly in the ointment:  Rome.

The Roman Republic, (which would later give birth to the Roman Empire in the 1st century B.C.) had a big problem with Carthage.  Rome yearned to expand and be the only game in town.  They coveted Carthage’s land, ports, and their primary source of wealth, i.e., the silver mines of northern Africa and southern Spain.  Greed, power and domination:  the oldest motives in the world.

Figs and the Punic Wars

Beginning in 264 B.C. Rome and Carthage engaged in a series of three conflicts known as the Punic Wars.  Combined, they would take the lives of hundreds of thousands.  The first two enervated but did not eliminate Carthage.

In the years prior to the third Punic War, Cato the Elder, (234-149 B.C.), a Roman statesman, trenchantly expressed his hatred of Carthage and incited the final confrontation.  He scathingly ended all of his speeches with “Carthage must be destroyed.”  During one oration to the Roman Senate he held up a fresh fig, recently plucked from a Carthaginian tree and exclaimed:  “See how close the enemy is?”

To understand Cato’s symbolism it must first be understood that figs deteriorate rapidly.  For Cato’s Carthaginian fig to be fresh it had to be within days of its tree.  Therefore, his point was to demonstrate the dangerous proximity of Carthage to Roman territory.

His point was ultimately well taken for in the third Punic War (149-146 B.C.); Rome annihilated Carthage.  The eponymous capital city of Carthage became a major Roman metropolis for the next six centuries until captured by the Vandals in 439 A.D.  The fig however, outlasted them all.

Adam and Eve Liked Figs

According to Genesis, after Adam and Eve had consumed the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and they realized their nakedness.  They covered themselves by sewing fig leaves together and making aprons.  Thus, from an Old Testament point of view, figs have been in existence since the inception of the world.

Secularly speaking, figs were possibly one of the first fruits cultivated by man.  There is archeological evidence over 11,000 years old from the Jordan Valley suggesting that agriculture began with the fig.

Where Do Figs Come From?

Figs originated in Asia Minor and quickly spread throughout the entire Mediterranean region.  The ancient Egyptians made a pastry of figs rolled in dough, the precursor to the modern day Fig Newton.

The Greeks valued figs so highly they forbade their export.  Various civilizations through time have revered them as sacred and a sign of peace, fertility or prosperity.  Clearly they played a vital role in the diets of various Mediterranean peoples for countless generations.

When Are Figs Available?

Fresh figs are available June through October.  As Cato the Elder indirectly pointed out they are highly perishable.  Store them in the fridge for no more than three days.  Dried figs, made from ripe autumn specimens, naturally will last longer.

Figs are also sold canned in syrup.  Figs are a nutritional powerhouse and contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.  They are a good source of calcium, potassium, iron, fiber, and antioxidants.

There are hundreds of varieties of figs and thousands of cultivars.  They range in color from a dark, purplish black to almost white, and in size from round to oval.  One of the most popular, the Mission fig, is named after the Spanish Franciscan missionaries who introduced them to America.

How Are Figs Used in Cooking?

Figs are employed in multifarious savory and sweet dishes including jams, tarts, mousses, salads, purees and stuffings.  In Europe, roasted figs are used to flavor coffee.  The Arabs ferment them into a spirit.  And in many cultures they are still relied on for sundry medicinal purposes.

Chef Mark R. Vogel

Tomorrow I’ll offer up Chef Mark Vogel’s recipes for Roasted Mushroom Salad with a Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette.