Making sprouts | Imamother

Seraph

Sun, May 17 2009, 8:33 am

Have you ever made sprouts for eating purposes?
What kind of sprouts? Do you make them on a regular basis, or was it a one time thing?
How did you make it?

I'm currently making alfalfa sprouts and mung bean sprouts. I've made the bean sprouts before, but for some reason mine are growing really curly and not like the ones in the store.
How long do I have to let my sprouts sit before they're good to eat? How long should alfalfa sprouts take to be finished?

Do you make it for money saving purposes? Health purposes? Fun? Other reasons?

Seraph

Sun, May 17 2009, 8:36 am

What equipment? Growing up, we made ours in a big applesauce jar on its side, with gauze over the opening to make it easy to get the water in and out, allow air in, and to prevent the sprouts from coming out.

I dont have any jars like that now, but I'm currently making them in tupperware containers.

If they were molding, perhaps you werent changing the water often enough.

chocolate moose

Sun, May 17 2009, 4:00 pm

We got special sprout equipment - trays with caps that let the water flow properly.

I have no idea why the alfalfa molded; but it was disgusting and a real waste of ingredients. I assumed it was b/c our apt was so hot. This was 20 yrs ago !

louche

Sun, May 17 2009, 5:34 pm

all you need is a jar and a piece of cheesecloth or an old stocking to cover the opening. I used a one or two-pint jar, I think, like a mayonnaise jar or something. The sprouts are ready to eat once they're sprouted...a couple of inches is about as much as you're going to get without spoilage. They should be eaten fairly quickly, within a few days at most and probably not even that long. Of course you could freeze them if you're going to use them in cooking.

I have at various times sprouted mung beans, lentils and the like, usually when I was dieting strenuously or was on a health-food or back-to-nature or money-saving kick, usually after taking out a lavishly illustrated how-to book from the library.

My bean-sprouting stages never last long because no one here really likes sprouts very much. A few sprouts on top of a salad is about as much as anyone here tolerates. A nice big bowl of sprouts for supper? Not for my chevra!

How to sprout:

http://www.thefarm.org/chariti......htm.

If you can't get the page from this,enter the url w/o the sprouts.htm part

chocolate moose

Sun, May 17 2009, 8:24 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

Yes....the equipment was costly. the alfalfa sprouts molded easily. the mung beans were gross.

we went back to buying them.

the mung beans made woody, gross sprouts. the ones in the store are more tender and juicy.

amother

Cobalt

Tue, Aug 02 2016, 9:49 pm

I do a lot of mung bean sprouting and nut sprouts/soaks. Also do some french bean sprouts.

Mung beans- I soak em about twelve hours, rinse whatever water is left, and sprout them in a glass mason jar, on its side, with a cheesecloth (secured with a rubber band). Twelve hourse later, (in the summer heat. I have no a/c in my apt.), they are crisp and deliciously sweet. Mash an avacado, add a bunch of mung beans and sprouted/soaked sunflower seeds and/or sprouted/soaked raw pumpkin seeds, and some soaked pecans on the side. I purchase organic nuts, at WF or other place where the nuts are in sold in bulk. I find they're freshest in bulk. The packaged nuts tend to be less fresh.

I like to sprout just enough for a day or two, cuz on day three they're not appealing to me...

I sprout the beans in a cabinet/pantry, where it's dark.

Also, I've experimented with sprouting time. When I sprout them three days, they're not as tasty. A day and a half at most. I used to wait for the tails to be long. Now I don't. As soon as tails are visible, the sprouts are ready for eating.

I eat 'em for health reasons- they're super energizing, and I feel better eating raw/fresh unprocessed food. Mental clarity, physical energy, better sleep. What's not to like...