It is the vegetable people love to loathe. Or is it?

Derided for decades, the Brussels sprout appears to have gone from hated to hip, popping up on cooking shows and a growing number of restaurant menus.

"In the US it's really taking off in a big way," Brussels sprout grower John Cranwell said.

"And most of their trends come here so who knows, we might have to try a bit harder to grow a few more."

John Cranwell is a third-generation Brussels sprout producer in the Adelaide Hills.

His family has grown everything from apples and gooseberries to carrots and turnips.

But it is the sprout they have stuck with and despite its reputation the returns have been relatively reliable.

"They're probably the most hated vegetable around but we sell quite a few so someone likes them," said Mr Cranwell's 79-year-old father, Maurice Cranwell.

Maurice has been growing sprouts since his school days and is still involved in the business.

"We started off growing cherries and the neighbour started growing sprouts and he bought a Mercedes Benz and we thought we better get onto this game," he said.

Third-generation sprout grower John Cranwell says returns on the crop have been relatively reliable. ( ABC: Kerry Staight )

Back then each bush was picked by hand and sprayed with DDT to keep pests away.

These days most sprout bushes are machine-harvested and protected with a range of less toxic chemicals.

"It's a very demanding crop to grow because it's such a long crop," John said.

"There's not many vegetables that stay in the ground for seven months. A lot can go wrong."

Bugs are the biggest challenge, especially the diamondback moth, which has wiped out paddocks of sprouts over the years.

Rewards in the long run for sprouts growers

But while most of the 40 or so growers in the Adelaide Hills have left the industry, the Cranwells have stayed and expanded.

As has one other family in the hills, the Samwells.

"We found that sprouts have been very good to us," Kent Samwell said.

"They're a fairly hard crop to grow and very frustrating, but in the end, over the years we've got rewards."

The Samwells are believed to be the biggest growers in the country in what is a small industry.

"We're insignificant on a world scene," said Mr Samwell's son Scott.

"We may grow around 300, maybe 400 hectares of sprouts across the nation.

"The UK grows about 3,500 hectares; The Netherlands grows about 4,000."

It is not just volume coming out of Europe but most of the Brussels sprout varieties.

The Samwells grow about 15 different types, including a purple version and some sweeter varieties.

"I think if people are exposed to a Brussels sprout of the current varieties that we have and it's cooked in an appropriate way I think that people will be more than happy to have another go at it," Scott Samwell said.

Parental influence could foster young sprouts fans: chef

Well-known chef Simon Bryant has been strongly on the affirmative side of the sprout debate since he was a child.

"I was lucky enough that we had a veggie patch and I think they're architecturally so magnificent that you're curious as a kid."

But he recognises many people do not have such fond memories.

"We've all been subjected to our parents cooking and the boiled to death [sprouts] and just that smell of sadness when you come home - the boiled cabbage smell."

However, the chef says with more people leaving the crunch in the vegetable, and learning how to showcase or balance its natural bitterness, the Brussels sprout has a bright future.

"Everyone is a blank canvas when they're a kid," he said.

"So if the parents are not forcing them down we're going to have a new generation of people that will probably appreciate them."

For more on this story, watch Landline this Sunday at noon on ABC 1.