CHESHUNT, England, 2015-11-26 — /EPR Retail News/ — Customers are in for a welcome surprise this festive season – Christmas sprouts are due to be much bigger than usual on account of the unseasonably warm autumn Britain has been experiencing.
With temperatures reaching up to 10 degrees higher than usual at this time of year it has led to sprouts growing about a third larger than average.
For much of the last four weeks temperatures in the UK have been as high as 15C and the extra heat has boosted sprout growth.
Tesco sprout expert Rob Hooper said: “The larger size of sprouts will be good news for customers cooking the Christmas dinner this year as it means the vegetables will be easier to peel, without losing their sweet flavour.
“Nobody likes the chore of peeling sprouts but this year, because of their size, customers will need fewer of them on their Christmas dinner plates and that means less work in the kitchen.”
Tesco’s sprouts have been grown by one of the UK’s largest suppliers of brassica, TH Clements, who are based in Benington, near Boston in Lincolnshire.
Richard Mowbray, commercial manager at TH Clements said: “In a normal year average sprouts are about 30mm in diameter and weigh around 15g and the ones we are harvesting already are absolute whoppers – over 50mm in diameter and weighing over 50g.”
Clements say that the cooler weather forecast for next week is welcome as it will slow the growth and help some of the leaves drop from the stalks which makes harvesting easier.
ENDS
Note to editors:
- It’s estimated that as much as 80 per cent of total British sprout sales take place in the two week Christmas and New Year period.
- This year British sprout growers are set to produce 70,000 tons of sprouts – the equivalent of 50 million sprouts or 10 million individual portions or the weight of 600 London buses.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01992 644645
We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.
SOURCE: Tesco PLC
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