I’m determined to take the time to learn how to grow sprouts in my kitchen and use them in various…on sandwiches, in salads and in stir fry. They are one thing that I should be able to grow and not have to buy at the grocery store. While I’m waiting for my lettuce and spinach to produce decent-size plants, growing sprouts could give me the variety I want with the freshness I like.
I started by getting my jars and lids organized. I already had 4 1-quart wide mouth canning jars. I ordered new lids that had metal mesh in the ring and “feet” so I could stand the jars on end or lean them at 45 degrees. I ordered these from Amazon.
I started with alfalfa seeds and mung bean seeds because they were familiar. Unfortunately, both packets of seeds were several years old so about half of the seeds did not sprout. Save yourself the frustration and buy fresh seeds! They can be purchased at Amazon.
I used 1 Tablespoon of alfalfa seed in the first jar and 1 Tablespoon of mung bean seeds in the second jar. I filled the jar with water, swirled the seeds around and set them on the counter overnight.
In the morning I drained the water, added more water, swished them around and drained the water off. I stood the jars inside a small glass cake pan to let them continue draining.
During the next 2 days, I rinsed the seeds every few hours, drained them and laid the jars down in the glass pan…like the picture below.
(I missed taking a picture of the alfalfa and mung bean sprouts…this is the second batch with the bean mix and chickpeas.)
After two days, I dumped the sprouts into cool water in a bowl and used my hands to swish them around. This was to loosen the green shells on each seed. They floated to the top so I could skim them off.
I first tried my Salad Spinner, but ended up using a plain stainless-steel bowl. The mung bean sprouts got stuck in the holes and the alfalfa sprouts went right through the holes!
Once I had most of the shells removed from the seeds, I spread the sprouts out in a larger glass cake pan and covered them with plastic wrap. I set them on the counter in the sun for a few hours and let them “green up.”
They kept well in the refrigerator in this neat little container:
Then, I started the second round of sprouts that I can use in stir fry…bean mix and chickpeas.
The alfalfa and mung bean sprouts are great in my sandwiches and salads. I hope the bean mix and chickpea sprouts work well in stir fry…my next experiment! Stay tuned!