The Surprising Science Behind the Brussels Sprouts Craze

A TikTok video by user @rantsandrocks has gone viral, explaining the scientific reason why Brussels sprouts have become a popular vegetable in recent years. In the 1990s, a Dutch scientist identified the chemicals sinigrin and progoitrin that made Brussels sprouts bitter, and seed companies were able to breed them out. Combined with the rise of culinary celebrities and the Food Network, Brussels sprouts became more than just boiled little balls of bitterness and could be roasted, glazed, and cooked with bacon. TikTokers were shocked by this revelation and may be giving these veggies a second chance.