So I am not one of those who is oversensitive to the taste of glucosinolate conjugates or isothiocyanates & I would not dream of insisting that anyone who is – certainly not a child - eat them just because they are ‘good for you.’
But for those who share the pleasure, just imagine any of the following.
At this time of year when they come healthy, deep green & tightly packed – just plunge for no more than 5 minutes into a pan of water which is at a rolling boil. Drain & eat just as they are, or with melted butter, a squeeze of lemon juice & some black pepper. You could use oil instead of butter, but never olive oil – something unobtrusive, like corn, vegetable or soya.
Nuts go very well with sprouts, so for something more elaborate combine with flakes of toasted almonds: melt a good knob of butter (or oil) in a pan, add the (lightly boiled, as above) sprouts & whirl over a high heat. Turn off the flame & scatter with the almonds.
Walnuts mix pleasingly with sprouts – providing they are not all dried up & bitter. Divide into halves or quarters & add to the sprouts as above, instead of almonds.
Fried Spanish onions also work well – cut into rings & fried until deep brown but not carbonised, they are just deliciously sweet.
For a very English version of sweet & sour pork – grilled pork chops with potatoes & sprouts - marmalade makes an enjoyable & unexpectedly good sauce. Admittedly I can verify this only if the marmalade is made from my mother’s recipe. This is quite runny, a little sweet, & has thick-cut peel, but is boiled until the peel is soft, not at all like Oxford marmalade.
Sprouts always work well as a kind of ‘stew’ which will serve as both vegetable & gravy for meat & potatoes, even a pasta sauce, with lots of cheese. Soften some sliced onion in oil or butter, add sliced sprouts & a tin of tomatoes & simmer for about 10 minutes.
If none of the above, perhaps weird-sounding, combinations is enough to counteract the (to you) unbearable taste of glucosinolates then just don’t eat them, remove them from your diet; make your refusals polite but firm.
I am a great believer in the idea that your body tells you what it needs, providing that it is given a proper chance to find out. There must be a genetic basis for the unpleasantness for you of what is scrumptious for me; it may even be a genetic signal that your genome is not designed to get the benefit of all the vitamins delivered in that particular package.
But it is personal, not a universal law of good taste.
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