Meet Bruce, our Brussels sprout grower

Bruce is the grower behind Snow Country Gardens in Ohakune, and he's been growing vegetables for 27 years.

Tucked beneath the slopes of Ruapehu, Bruce grows some seriously good Brussels sprouts and parsnips. While Ohakune might be best known for its giant carrot, it's also home to generations of passionate vegetable growers, and Bruce is one of them.

Those Brussels sprouts in your box didn't appear overnight. From seedling to harvest, they take around 4–6 months to grow.

Brussels sprouts are also part of the Brassica family, alongside broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. (Good family to be invited to.)

Modern Brussels sprouts have been carefully bred to be sweeter, milder and far more delicious than the ones many of us remember from childhood.

And here's a cool one... A good frost actually makes Brussels sprouts taste sweeter.

As the temperature drops, the plant converts starches into natural sugars to help protect itself from freezing. Nature's pretty clever like that.

Brussels sprouts don't all ripen at once, either. They're picked from the bottom of the stalk upwards over several weeks, with the biggest sprouts ready first.

We're pretty lucky to work with growers like Bruce.

Behind every Brussels sprout is months of hard work, plenty of early mornings, and 27 years of experience.