Can you eat squash sprouts?

Question

Can you eat squash sprouts?

Answer 1

Yes!! The sprouts and growing tips of many vegetables make nice greens: just steam them in a steamer, like you would do to spinach or other greens.  The younger the better: the older plants start to get woody and tough.  A few veggies do not have edible shoots however: potatoes for example have poisonous plants. But, young tender squash shoots are one of the tastier greens in the garden.

Answer 2

The usual method of preparing a Brussels sprout for cooking is first to cut off the base together with any remaining stem, and then to peel away and discard the surface leaves that are loosened by this cut. When boiling or steaming, some cooks will cut a cross in the stem to aid the penetration of heat to the center of the sprout. In December 2007, Ireland's Food Minister Trevor Sargent described his preferred method of cooking of Brussels sprouts: placing the sprouts in a single layer in a saucepan, covering them in just enough water to cover the stalks and boiling with salt and butter until the water is absorbed.[7] Microwaving, stir frying, roasting and steaming are also options.

Overcooking releases sulfur compounds in the vegetables that give it a distinctive smell commonly found unpleasant. If correctly cooked, the unpleasant smell is avoided and the vegetable possesses a delicate nutty flavor.

In the UK, Brussels sprouts are a traditional winter vegetable, and are often eaten boiled with a roast dinner, particularly at Christmas. They can also be stir-fried, roasted, or made into soup.