I have a confession to make. One of my least favorite foods is sprouts. I know the value of sprouts in a survival situation but I admit that it has taken quite a bit of effort on my part to acquire a taste for them. I'm not usually the type of person to persist in eating foods that require "acquiring" a taste either. I just figure there are so many different foods out there that I should be allowed to dislike SOME of them and leave them happily to the people who DO like them. Sprouts are different though. They are just potentially too important to ignore them.
So what makes them so important? Well, we all need fresh green vegetables to stay healthy. As a prepper we plan for all kinds of emergencies and one of those emergencies may include the inability to buy or grow any fresh vegetables for an extended amount of time. In that case, sprouts may just save our lives. So its a good idea to learn NOW how to grow sprouts as well as how they can be eaten to make them, um......more palatable.
The first sprouts I ever tasted were bean sprouts and they were thin and stringy and tasted moldy to me. The same could be said for alfalfa sprouts. I just couldn't eat either the salad or the sandwich that they were served on because they tasted like dirt or mold to me. I have since discovered that they probably did have a slightly moldy and funky thing going on. I also discovered that MOST sprouts don't have to taste that way if they are sprouted and eaten right away or stored properly.
Hopefully, if you haven't already acquired the taste for sprouts you will be willing to give them another try. I think by sprouting your own rather then buying those sad alfalfa sprouts in the grocery store you will find, just like I did, that they aren't bad after all.
First, what kind of seeds can be sprouted? Hundreds of seeds can be sprouted! There are special sprouting seeds and blends that can be bought or you can sprout seeds that you saved from your own garden. They can't be sprayed with pesticides but since you saved them yourself that shouldn't be a problem. You may have saved seeds for replanting and for some reason or other you had more then enough of one crop and find that you just can't plant that many seeds. So why not experiment and sprout a few? You cannot eat tomato sprouts or pepper sprouts because their leaves and plants are poisonous. Those and other nightshade plants just aren't edible or suitable for sprouting. On the other hand mustards, radishes, turnips, culinary herbs like basils or parsley, beans, peanuts, sunflower, pumpkin, broccoli and even okra are edible and can be sprouted. There are too many seeds to begin to list them all here. There are sites that specialize in just sprouting seeds and they will give you a good idea of what can be sprouted.
After you choose the seeds you would like to sprout then you need something to sprout them in. You can purchase a large sprouter with several trays or you can simply buy a sprouting lid or screen that fits on a canning jar. You can also just get some mesh or netting and fasten it over a canning jar with the metal band from the jar or a rubber band. I myself use a jar with purchased lids or screens. The lids or screens are very inexpensive and easy to clean. There are other options like bags as well.
After you have your seeds selected and your jar ready then the process is simple. Before going to bed rinse your seeds well to remove dust and debris. Place them in the jar and cover them with warm (not hot) water to soak them. You should have a ratio of about 1 part seeds to 3 parts water. If you're using bean seeds then use about 1/4 cup. If using smaller seeds like mustard then use a tablespoon or so. It's not really necessary to measure exactly. Just be sure to give the seeds plenty of water. After the seeds are covered with water place the lid on and let them sit until morning.
In the morning, you will need to spend a couple of minutes with your seeds. Drain them. Rinse them really well and then be sure to shake out all the excess water. Too much water left on the sprouts can give them that moldy taste or cause the seeds to rot before they sprout. Place the inverted jar at an angle over a bowl to catch any additional water that may come out and sit them aside. In the evening do the same process of rinsing and draining again and leave them inverted over the bowl overnight. The next day do the same thing again. In three days or so depending on the seeds they should begin to sprout. Continue the process until the seeds have a tail twice the length of the seed And their first set of leaves. Now you can sit them in the sunlight to green up. When they are done then you can give them a final rinse in a colander. Using your fingers and a good spray of water from the sink the seed covering should easily loosen and wash away. It is not absolutely necessary for it to be removed unless you don't like it or it is one of those seeds with very hard outer coverings. leave it on or take it off, the choice is yours.
So now that you have successfully sprouted you need to know how to eat them. The obvious way is to use them in a salad or on a sandwich. They can also be used in soups, stir fry, fried rice, pasta dishes, meatloaf or patties, vegetable pancakes, breads, desserts or anything else that you can think of to toss them into. If you can't eat them right away then you can thoroughly dry them (a salad spinner works wonders) and place them in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator. They should keep for a few weeks. If you leave them damp then they seem to take on that musky taste that I find so disagreeable. Storing them dry is key to maintaining their flavor.
So there you have it. That is all there is to sprouting and using sprouts. It's very simple but also very important. It may someday be your only "garden". It's so simple that even people who live where they can't plant a garden or those who live in apartments can have fresh greens year round. It does need a little practice but its so easy a child can do it. You could have several jars going with various stages of growth so that there is an endless supply of greens. You can experiment with different grains and recipes until you find something that you like. There may be some that you just never will like (beets for me, yuck) and some that you really love like basil or wheat sprouts. Either way its s good and easy skill to learn. Why not challenge yourself to try it if you haven't already done so? You'll be glad you did.
Southern Wood Elf