1. It won its name after becoming popular in the Belgian capital in the 16th Century, but the Brussels sprout is originally thought to have come from Iran and Afghanistan.

2. Around 5,000 years ago sprouts were prescribed by Chinese physicians as a medication for bowel problems.

3. They come in all shapes and sizes – from “button” sprouts for discount stores which are 20-25mm wide, “pre-pack” at 25-32mm for bags sold in stores and “loose” 32-40mm, for the big trays in supermarkets .

4. Packed full of folic acid, vitamins A and C and anti-cancerous properties, there are plenty of health reasons to eat sprouts.

5. Chances are that if you’ve eaten a Brussels sprout over the last few years, you’ve eaten one of farmer John Clappison’s. He grows one in 20 of all sprouts sold in the UK, producing 175 million of the little beasts each year.

6. Farmers use a state-of-the-art sorter which uses three digital cameras to take six pictures of each sprout with the fat or ugly ones being blasted off the conveyor using a jet of compressed air.

7. Often thought of as a Christmas vegetable because of their need to grow at cool temperatures, thanks to modern growing techniques the sprout is now available almost all year round.

8. In December, supermarket Morrisons sells about 650 tonnes of sprouts each week. That’s more than the take-off weight of an A380 Airbus.

9. It’s not an easy journey to your table. The sprout has an astonishing 46 pests and diseases trying to kill it off, from the caterpillar to an assortment of aphids, which makes growing them organically in the UK virtually impossible.

10. As you’re letting out your waistband feasting on turkey, roast potatoes and cranberry sauce, remember that a cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains only about 60 calories.

11. Sprout fan Linus Urbanec from Sweden holds the current world record for the most Brussels sprouts eaten in one minute. He swallowed 31 on November 26, 2008.

12. Bernard Lavery, of Llanharry in Rhondda Cynon Taff, has held the record for the heaviest Brussels sprout since October 1, 1992, when he grew a monster that weighed in at 8.3kg. Imagine that on your table!

13. Overcooking sprouts makes them smell like rotten eggs. With high levels of sulforaphane, sprouts should be cooked for only four to six minutes.

14. There are more than 110 different varieties of sprouts. This year’s top types look likely to be Albarus, Brodie and Kryptus, which have been bred specifically for flavour.

15. The area covered by Brussels sprout fields in the UK is the equivalent of 3,240 football pitches.

16. Last year, a team of scientists and local schoolchildren used the energy from 1,000 Brussels sprouts to light a Christmas tree on London's Southbank.

17. In August, adventurer Stuart Kettell, 49, rolled a Brussels sprout to the top of Mt. Snowdon using only his nose, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer support.

18. This Christmas, M&S is hoping to win over sprout lovers with a new lurid green Brussels sprout, pear and apple juice, below.

19. The sprout industry is now worth £650,000,000.

20. The freshest sprouts are green with a white base. If they are slightly yellow or brown it means they’re getting old.