I've recently started looking into sprouting and it doesn't look all that difficult. I found this video of a man growing sprouts and wheatgrass in his truck! Very inspiring stuff. If he can manage on the road, there is no excuse for me to not try sprouting in my kitchen! Check it out.
Sprouting doesn't take many supplies at all. In fact, seeds and a sprouting device are all you'll need. You may already have what you need waiting for you in your kitchen!
To begin sprouting, all you need are:
- Seeds
- Mason jars
- Lid rings for the jars
- Screen, cheesecloth, or flour sack towels
What I'm using:
- 2 pint mason jars with metal rings
- flour sack towels
- 1/2 c. adzuki beans (1/4 c. per jar)
If you have organic quinoa, beans, or lentils, they'll probably sprout. I happen to have some adzuki beans in the pantry at the moment, so that's what I'm experimenting with. I don't have any of the larger mason jars like in the video, so I'll be using two pint jars.
As far as soaking, I've read mixed information about preferred water/bean ratios. Some say double the water for how many beans/seeds you have; some say use as much as four times the water as beans/seeds. Some people put very little seeds/beans in their jars; some people seem to fill it almost halfway with seeds/beans!
Since I'm not really sure what to expect here, and I'm going to finish sprouting in the jar (instead of soaking in the jar, then dumping in a dedicated sprouting device), I'm going to go light on the beans and heavy on the water. I think I'm just going to fill the jar with water.
Put your towel or screen on the jar, and screw the ring on. Sit the jar (now full of 1/4 c. beans and water) on the counter and allow to soak for 8-12 hours.
If you're trying something other than beans or lentils, I recommend doing a little research to figure out your soak time and optimal seed/water ratios. Not everything sprouts in the same amount of time. Some things, like grains, apparently, only take about 20 minutes to soak, and 3 days to sprout.
After the soak, dump the water out (just turn the jar upside down over your sink). Fill back up, rinse and agitate the beans a little by swirling the jar. Drain well. Repeat this a few times until the seeds/beans are rinsed well (until the water isn't foggy?). Sit the jar on the counter again for another 8-12 hours.
Repeat the rinsing and waiting process a few more times, and you should have sprouts!
Here's another video I found demonstrating the soaking and rinsing process, including a time-lapse of the soak!
If you have a favorite thing to sprout, or method of sprouting, I'd love to hear about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment