TL;DR, jump to the results here…

I’ve always cut a cross into the bottom of Brussels Sprouts. I do it because my mother taught me to do that. And she does it because her mother taught her to do it.

It was a part of the preparation that always made sense to me on some level – common sense. Like looking both ways before crossing a road, or not talking to strangers. The stem is tougher and woodier than the more delicate leaves, so surely it helps things to cook more evenly.

Recently, however, I’ve been seeing conflicting information on this topic. I’ve always kind of ignored people who say it’s not necessary. Brushing off these claims as coming from people who don’t really understand sprouts. Or maybe people who overcook sprouts so as to compensate for the under cooked middle. Or people who simply don’t have the palate to understand the implications of the mushy overcooked outer leaves.

Why shouldn’t you cross sprouts?

A few weeks ago, I saw something on my beloved BBC Good Food website. One of my favourite resources. This also told me that this whole crossing sprout topic was a waste of time and energy. Maybe all these naysayers weren’t wrong! A little more research told me that it can actually have the opposite effect – making the sprouts waterlogged and mushy all the way through. And no one wants that.

I decided that I had to put this to rest. I literally couldn’t face this Christmas with this issue unresolved. Extreme I know, but I’m sensitive to wasting time. Waiting until Christmas dinner itself was not an option either – what if it didn’t work? A sub-par Christmas dinner is not an option for me.

There was only one way to really answer this question: To test it myself. 

Do you need to cut a cross into sprouts

The Sprout Test

  • One big bag of sprouts
  • 3 cooking methods – boiled, steamed, roasted
  • 50% crossed, 50% uncrossed

The Methodology

  • I cooked both crossed and uncrossed sprouts together in the same round to make sure there were no variations in the cooking (such as temperature or time) which would affect the results
  • I aimed to cook sprouts of similar sizes in the experiment

With each batch I did 2 tests to understand the ‘tenderness’ of the stem:

  • Using a standard table knife to cut down the middle of the sprout from top to bottom. Ensuring that the cut went right through the stem.
  • The taste test – taking a bite from the bottom of the sprout

The Results – Does Crossing Brussels Sprouts Work?

Boiled

I boiled the sprouts for 4 minutes. That was more than enough to get them a little softer than I’d usually cook.

I noticed absolutely zero difference with either the knife test or the taste test between those which were crossed and those which were not. I tried 3 different sprouts of each preparation – 3 crossed and 3 uncrossed.

Steamed

I steamed the sprouts for 5 minutes in a covered steamer basket over an inch of already boiling water.

I found the knife test made no difference – the sprouts seemed equally easy to cut into. On my first bite test I thought I noticed a very sight difference in tenderness with the ones that were crossed. I tried a couple more of each variation and could not discern any difference at all!

Roasted

I roasted the sprouts for just over 20 minutes. The ones they had in the supermarket weren’t particularly large so I didn’t want to overdo them. This batch were the least ‘cooked’ overall from all the methods. As in, they had the most crunch and were the firmest.

In the first round I tried, I felt there was an ever-so-slight difference in how easy it was to bite into the bottom/stem part of the sprout. On cutting with a regular table knife I couldn’t tell any difference.

After that I tried another 4 rounds With one more of those rounds I felt like there was some very, very slight difference in tenderness. But the other 3 I did not. To be honest, the difference was so slight I’m not entirely sure that I could tell any difference in the second round.

The thing is – trust me – I wanted there to be a difference (which is surely a bias in this experiment). I didn’t want to think that I’d been doing something pointlessly all this time. Or think of the hours spent crossing sprouts over the last 20 years… (I’m sure it adds up to something signifiant!)

Conclusion

Will I be crossing sprouts this year? Nope. I couldn’t really tell any difference when really concentrating and biting into only the bottom part of the sprout. I don’t think there was really any difference at all to be honest. So, would people eating sprouts as part of a big turkey and gravy filled forkful notice a difference? Definitely not.

The only time I felt there was a minimal (we are talking 1-2%) difference was in the roasted variety, which were less cooked. So perhaps if you are only very lightly cooking them there might be some slight difference – but I didn’t try a cooking method that was under-cooked enough to make a big difference.

What are your thoughts on this? Were you always taught to cross sprouts? Have you tested this in the past? Will you be bothering going forward?

Are you now craving sprouts? Yeah, me too…

Try these recipes:

Roasted Sprouts with Cranberries & Walnuts

Leftover Turkey & Sprout Curry

13 Thoughts on “Do You Need To Cross Brussels Sprouts?”

  • I found this very interesting, and it answered my question! My parents taught me to cross the sprouts too, so I’ve kept the habit for years. Perhaps it makes a small difference to the larger, tougher sprouts – but I usually buy the baby ones. Thanks to your article, I will save myself some time tonight by not bothering to cross our sprouts… And will save time in the future too! Thanks again and best wishes.

    • I cross cut my sprouts because my mother always did. I always suspected it was a waste of time, but never dared not do it for fear of mum tutting at me from the heavens. This Christmas will be my last crossed-sprout season.

  • Fourth generation crossed here 🙋‍♀️ I recently cooked 2lbs and was constantly questioning why I was spending all this extra time. Thank you SO much for your research! I’ll see if I can convince my mother and grandmother to save themselves some time as well!

  • I love your experiment, and I absolutely believe your findings but I’ll still be cutting crosses into my sprouts. It’s the way that the method was handed down to me (by my grandad) and every time I cut that cross notch I’m back there in their kitchen. I don’t care that it’s a useless exercise from a cooking point of view, it is – and always will be – a part of the ritual of cooking sprouts.

    • Thanks Andy – you raise a very significant point! Family traditions are very important – and the memories you have are worth way more than saving a few minutes of meal prep 🙂

  • lol you put a cross on them to keep little demons out – nothing to do with cooking them. A hangover from medieval times due to the sulphuric smell if you over cook them.

    • Wow, thanks, Noel, I just had to google that – how interesting! Shows how ancient superstitions can be passed down and get lost in translation!

  • I think it might depend on the size of the sprouts. When I was you (60 odd years ago) they were much larger than those sold in the supermarkets today so had woodier stalks which my mother taught me to cut crosses in.

    • Alison, Absolutely, yes good point, veg has definitely changed over the years with different processing/growing methods, so it could very much be that it’s not needed these days 🙂

  • I like others have always put a cross in the sprouts it’s something you did. Handed down the generations a tradition that I have kept up even tho it makes no difference to the taste or cooking time. Even when I’ve roasted or air fried them I still do it lol. It’s now a habit that I can’t break nor do I really want to as it’s part of my memories of cooking with my Nanny and my mother.xx

    • Yes Carol! Totally agree, sometimes the process of doing something is more important than the end result, when it gives us some satisfaction along the way 🙂

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