Sprouts

[Stephanie]

I'm intrigued about "sprouts". Today in chat they were discussing grains and I got lots of good info.

 

I think it was Mother who mentioned alternatives to grains/flour for bread making and then the subject of sprouts came up. I believe Mother shared the following link

 

www.sproutpeople.com

 

It is a great place, so interesting. BUT...I'm still a little confused as to exactly what you do with these sprouts.

 

Sorry if my ignorance is showing

 

I thought some of you "sprout people" might clue me in!

 

[Fritz_Monroe]

I'm not really a sprout person, but I'll give my input. the short answer is you eat them. I've eaten alfalfa sprouts and mung bean sprouts. Alfalfa is often readily available in the grocery store. I'll eat these on salads or sandwiches. I've also had bean sprouts on salads, but I'm not a big fan of them.

 

This is the only way I've ever had them, though. Although I do think I've had bean sprouts in chinese food at some point.

 

The great thing about sprouts is you can have a ready supply of fresh veggies at any time. Sprouts also allow you to absorb more of the nutrients that are locked away inside those seeds.

 

Hope this helps.

[Jeepers]

What Fritz said. Great source of fresh veggie. When ever I eat them I use them more as a garnish. They are good to throw in a salad and on a sandwich.

 

I like them in the summer on just a tomato and mayo sandwich. Or tomato, mayo and cucumber sandwich. Or, tomato, cucumber, mayo and radish. Tuna salad sandwich and sprouts. Gah, I'm getting so hungry.

 

I usually just pick up a pack of broccoli or alfalfa sprouts at the grocery store but I want to try my hand at sprouting my own soon.

[Stephanie]

I am amazed by the choices they have to sprout! I really want to understand it before I order the stuff.

 

They have a comprehensive FAQ section...so I'm working my way through that.

 

 

[Crazy4Canning]

You'll find that the alfalfa blends resemble most 'alfalfa' sprouts. The Broccoli sprouts are kind of spicy, and the sandwich blends are nice and long.

 

I just uncovered my sprout stash and am disappointed - they aren't sprouting in time and are turning mealy & smelly. The seeds are old!

 

I must go buy more....

 

Anyone - any idea what I do with the old seeds besides throw them away????

[Leah]

Well, let's see...

I sprout alfalfa, radish, broccoli, clover, sunflower; mostly for salads and sandwiches.

Lentils, peas, black sesame, flax (it will get all snotty if you try to sprout it with the others) ; for stirfrys.

We used to sprout wheat, oatmeal into grass for shakes.

We don't like mung beans, as they are too watery for most of my family.

 

I really need to try that sprout bread recipe.

 

 

 

[Stephanie]

Leah, where do you get your seeds? Are they special seeds for sprouting or just regular seeds?

 

What kind of sprouter do you use?

 

I'd really like to try this, and considering just buying one of their starter kits, but the shipping is so high.

 

 

[Leah]

For the small seeds, I use a canning jar and a plastic strainer top I bought back in the 1970's somewhere. (I used to just rubber band a square of doubled or tripled cheesecloth over the opening.) The large seeds grow in a little square candy dish.

I get the seeds in the health food store, except I ordered the black sesame from the internet somewhere, and the black oil sunflower seeds I buy at the feed store. The lentils and flax seed are just the ones you buy at the grocery.

[Ambergris]

Seed that isn't viable would still add some interest to a loaf of bread.

[Becca_Anne]

Plant them

[Stephanie]

Anyone ever heard of this place or used this kind of sprouter?

 

 

http://marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor...779&i=107818826

[Ambergris]

I used a sprouter a lot like that for a while. It was too big and always in the way.

[Crazy4Canning]

Originally Posted By: prayed2baMom

Anyone ever heard of this place or used this kind of sprouter?


http://marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor...779&i=107818826

Yes, I have the very same sprouter. People either love it or hate it. I don't like it because you never the seeds never get completely dry. My seeds always seem to turn mushy and smelly. I'm ordering rust-proof lids from www.sproutpeople.com

I seem to have had the best sprouting results in a jar with a screen for a lid. Sprout People are in San Fransisco and have really great feedback and selections.

[Violet]

I wish I could figure out how to sprout mung beans. They are alwasy too small or they really sprout and have roots and get leaves. I bought regular mung beans at the Oriental market and also some seeds in a package at the store for sprouting. I saw no difference.

Maybe I can get some good help here. Thanks !

[Crazy4Canning]

Violet,

 

Have you checked www.sproutpeople.com ? They are a really great resource out of San Francisco and their website is really informative. I solved a lot of my sprout problems by using good seed and shaking the dickens out of them in a jar...not some fancy sprouter.

 

[Mother]

I have that sprouter also, in fact two of them. Like C4C I don't care for them all that well. They not only don't allow the seeds to dry enough but they don't allow for even distribution of the water or air. I occassionally use them for test germinating my older seed. Thankfully I only paid a couple dollars each at the thrift store.

 

Like some of the others I just use jars (usually wide mouth quarts but often gallon ones) setting on the sink. I use a plastic canning ring or a rubber band and cheese cloth usually, though I do have a couple of flats made from plastic cross stitch material that works nicely too. Most of my seeds get soaked overnight, rinsed a couple or three times a day and are left on their side on a small propped up drain board in between rinses. There is a window above the sink but the light never seems to affect the sprouts and I often set them up on the window sill for a couple of hours anyway to green them up a bit. I usually have a couple going at most times. It's not hard to remember to rinse them when they are where I am standing at least three times a day. The length of time it takes to sprout depends on the size of the seed and the length that you want to see.

 

Sunnies, barley, and wheat grass take a bit more as they need to be soaked, sprouted slightly and then spread on covered trays on top of soil or a growing medium until they grow. The instructions are on the sprout people's web site. I use the wheat grass for juicing along with barley grass. I've never tried oat grass. Because I'm gluten intolerant I don't use wheat sprouts but the wheat grass doesn't bother me as the gluten is contained mostly in the seed. I do know celiacs who cannot tolerate them however.

 

I use various seed from various places. I try to make sure I have organic seed and I'm very cautious about using some grocery store seeds as they can sometimes be coated with a sprout inhibitor and don't use garden type seeds usually unless they are heirloom organics. I prefer the taste of the big gray sunflower sprouts as compared to the black oil ones but have done both.

 

I use both my hard red and soft white organic wheat for sprouting but like the red best of all. Wheat grass takes a special juicer for extraction but I was fortunate enough to find a hand operated $50 on for $5 at the thrift store. Amazing what you find there. Wheat Grass juice is sweet but sort of taste like grass smells. Barley grass juice doesn't have nearly the good taste but I mix the two and sometimes add other sprouts to juice also. Clover sprouts blend well with them.

 

Most lentils and bean sprouts should be cooked with the exception of mung bean sprouts though even those I believe are more digestible when steamed. I use them in stir-fries and soups or casseroles. I also dry the bean sprouts in my dehydrator and grind them coarse, or fine as flour depending on their intended use. I use them in breads and crackers.

 

Sunnies go into a salad or even make a salad themselves. They are sweet and nutty tasting. Radish cress, and other "bitey/spicey" sprouts are added to salads or sandwhiches. Broccoli and stronger tasting ones I normally use in stir-fries. I sprout flax also but find it is a bit slippery feeling on the tongue because of the mucilaginous properties of the seed. I sometimes put them in oatmeal but usually in salads.

 

Sprouting seeds that won't sprout really don't do well in the garden I've found though you usually get some that come up. I have already ground the seeds though and used them in breads and other products. If they don't sprout they are not nearly as nutritious but they don't go to waste that way.

 

One suggestion if you do a lot of sprouting. Be sure to clean the jars thoroughly between sproutings. A lot of places reccomend a small amount of bleach and water and even suggest you soak the seeds in dilute bleach water but I just wash them thoroughly and use boiling water for my jars and lids and only rinse the seed well before soaking them. So far so good.

 

Hope this helps.

[JCK88]

I got a cheapie sprouter for $1.99 at a local chain store called Christmas Tree Shop. It is round, has layered trays, a bottom and a cover. It works like a dream. And, it's not too big to have around.

 

I have in the past sprouted mung beans in a mason jar with a screen lid. This required regular changes of the water. I still use a mason jar sometimes for small amounts. You don't really need a gadget to sprout in.

 

This thread brought back memories of the days when I had to write one restaurant review a week for the paper and the nice people at a Chinese Restaurant in Port Charlotte, Florida took me back into the kitchen and showed me their sprouting beans in a giant 30-gallon food-grade container! They merely had them in there with water but said they changed out the water every day. So I guess my mason jar was small scale, but same method.

 

 

[michelle]

 

[Leah]

http://tilz.tearfund.org/Publications/Foot...paring+food.htm

Germinated flours – or ‘Power Flour’ , also - cereal-based oral rehydration solution.