Welcome to the History of the Cornish Sprout.

The original Cornish Sprout was found by accident in 1833

Like most culinary adventures accident and trail and error were responsible for the final results. Take a gander through our recipe page to see how the presentation of the Cornish Sprout has changed through time.

For those with a horticultural knowledge the Cornish Sprout is naturally immune from the dreaded Coiled Sprout Disorder (various surveys in the late 1960s bear witness to this.

During the mining era, when Cornwall made the mine owners wealthy but the miners poorer, the Cornish Sprout was a staple supply at the mine shops, often called Chip Shops as the miners were paid in mine chips that could only be spent at these shops (double profit for the mine owners!). Although most tales tell of miners having Cornish Pasties for their dinner, said to be filled with swede and bone gravy at one end and apple with clotted cream at the other, the sad truth is that many a miner walked his 20 miles to work, spent is 15 hour shift in the mine and walk his 20 miles back home on a handful of Cornish Sprouts.

Another exemplary time for the Cornish Sprout was during World War I, here the Cornish Sprout was used to keep our solders in fine fettle. Cornish Sprouts were sent to all the major battle grounds and were also used in the treatment of wounds and to assist the troops after inhaling Mustard Gas.

Cornish Sprouts are now now a major reason why Cornwall gets so many visitors, especially from foreign places; they want to see the Cornish Sprout for themselves - for many can only experience this pilgrimage once in their lives!

We hope you enjoy your journey through the realms of the Mystical Cornish Sprout and remember the best way to take this journey is with a pinch of salt!