Kitchen Chemist
How to Grow SPROUTS
You learned how to wash salad greens in our previous article. What better way to top those salads than with vegetable sprouts that you grow yourself?
The Basics
Growing sprouts is so easy that children can do it. Unlike growing vegetables in a garden, sprouting gives you nearly immediate results. In just a few days, you’ll watch as seeds germinate and grow into healthful greens to use on your salads or in stir fries and smoothies. Sprouts contain all the nutrition that Mother Nature packs into the seeds from which they develop.
Getting Started
All you need are some sprouting seeds and a sprouting container like those in the photos. We prefer tray sprouters because they make it easy to rinse sprouts under the kitchen faucet. Jar sprouters, by contrast, have a screen-like, sieve top for rinsing and draining but we find them cumbersome.
Cost Savings
Sprouts cost very little. The per-pound price of sprout seeds might seem high but bear in mind that, depending on the size of the seeds you select, you might use only a tablespoon or so per batch. A small amount of seed goes a long, long way.
Sprouting seeds are available at local health food stores as well as online. Compared to the sprouts you buy in the grocery store for $2 or more per package, a batch of home-grown sprouts will probably cost you less than 25-cents.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
5 STEPS TO GROW SPROUTS
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1.Place approximately 1 tablespoon of sprouting seeds in a small bowl. Cover with water and allow to soak for several hours. The seeds will absorb water which will hasten germination. Pour off any excess water, being careful not to lose any seeds. (Some seeds do not require presoaking.)
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2.Spread the seeds evenly in your sprouter, give them a rinse, and place the container out of direct sunlight. Your kitchen counter will probably work well.
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3.Gently rinse the seeds and their resulting sprouts twice a day.
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4.Your sprouts will be ready to harvest usually in 5 to 7 days, depending on the kind you are growing.
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5.Store sprouts in the refrigerator for up to one week.
© 2010 Cynthia E. Field, Ph.D. All rights reserved worldwide.
What You Need
sprouter • sprouting seeds
SPROUTS TIPS
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Always use organic seeds that are labeled for sprouting and follow the instructions provided with the seeds. -
Try a variety of sprouting seeds to learn what you like best. You can sometimes find “mixes” containing several kinds of seeds in one package. Or you can make your own mix. We especially enjoy a mix of sprouted radish, broccoli, lentil, and wheat berry (wheat grain) greens. We recently purchased kale seeds for sprouting. Kale is one of our favorite, nutrition-packed leafy greens.
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Use sprouts raw on salads and sandwiches or in smoothies.
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Add sprouts to stir fries and other cooked dishes for an extra boost of flavor and nutrition.
Sprouts are easy to grow any time of the year.
Sprouts usually develop roots within 24 - 48 hours.
Two kinds of sprouters - tray and jar.
Our sprouter tray fits inside a plastic storage container that we cover and keep in the refrigerator.
Can you see the roots?
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From the Publisher
The information and opinions expressed in all Simple Food Kitchen Chemist articles are provided as a free service to our readers. We have been a customer of Emergency Essentials for many years. In return for including a link to their Preparedness Pantry blog, we received a $10 gift card.
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