A high source of protein and energy, beans are an important part of a healthy diet, especially if you're trying to loose weight. I like to grow sprouts from my beans, they are easy to grow, and make a healthy addition to any salad.
You can sprout many beans including; alfalfa, barley, broccoli, buckwheat, cabbage, fenugreek, garbanzo, green peas, lentils, mung beans, radishes, red clover, wheat, soy beans, sunflowers and more. Make sure that you always purchase beans, which have been packaged for sprouting, no other type will do.
Growing sprouts in a jar
The easiest method is to grow sprouts in a glass jar, any size will do. To provide plenty of fresh air, cover the top of the jar with muslin, cheese cloth or nylon mesh screen and secure with a rubber band. You can also buy specially sprouting lids designed for this purpose.
Step One: Soaking
In a litre jar, put 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of small seeds, and up to 1 cup of larger seeds, like green peas or garbanzor. Cover top of jar with cloth or sprouting lid and rinse the seeds in warm (not hot) water. Drain and refill so that water is about an inch above the seeds. Let the seeds soak 8-12 hours (overnight). Protect from light by covering with a dish towel or placing in a cupboard.
Step Two: Rinsing
Rinse 2 to 3 times per day for 3 to 4 days (depending on the temperature). After thoroughly draining the rinse water, lay the jar on its side to spread out the seeds. Do not expose to light. After 3 to 4 days the sprouts should be filling up the jar. Sometimes I keep doing this for 5 days, it depends on how you like your sprouts, experiment and see what you like.
Step Three: Removing Hulls
After 3 to 4 days the sprouts will have thrown off their hulls. To remove the hulls, place the sprouts in a bowl and run cool water over them. Most of the hulls will either float to the top or sink to the bottom making them easy to remove. (Note: not all seeds have hulls.)
Step Four: Harvesting
Rinse sprouts in cool water and remove any remaining hulls. Drain in a colander, but do not allow the sprouts to dry out. Place in an air-tight bag leaving room for air circulation.
If your sprouts need to develop chlorophyll or carotene there is one final step. (The seed package directions should tell you whether greening is necessary.)
Step Five: Greening
Once the hulls are removed, place the sprouts back into the sprouting jar or into a clear plastic airtight bag. Put the sprouts in indirect sunlight. It takes about a day for the chlorophyll and carotenes to develop. Once the sprouts are ready rinse, drain, and eat, or refrigerate.
Storing:
Sprouts will keep for about a week in the refrigerator if you rinse them once every day or two. Be sure to keep the sprouts from freezing as they are frost sensitive.
6 Sprouting Tips:
If you stick to these tips you'll never go wrong:
- Rinse often (2-3 times/day).
- Keep them moist, not wet.
- Keep them at room temperature.
- Give them air to breathe.
- Don’t grow too many in one container.
- Keep them in a dark place.
