Someone please explain sprouting

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Would someone please be so kind as to explain to me exactly what sprouting is?

-- Michael (michael813@yahoo.com), October 08, 1999

Answers

No mystery. You take seeds that not have been treated in any way (ie. for storage) and you soak them in water for a few hours then dump the water. 3-4 times a day you rinse them in fresh water. The rest of the time, they stay in the dark (chlorophyll isn't all that tasty!). In a few days you have fresh vegetables instead of grains. A whole new set of vitamins and nutrients!

The details are usually spelled out somewhere on the seed package. Sprouting containers come in many flavors from a canning jar to a terra cotta masterpiece.

Go to the produce dept. of your supermarket. Odds are you will find plastic bags of several different kinds: mung beans, soy beans, alfalfa, radish, and so on. See if you like them.

-- Gypsy (GypsiGold@aol.com), October 08, 1999.


See also:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/scripts/htmlgen.exe?DOCUMENT_MV024

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 08, 1999.


Go to www.honeyvillegrain.com and check their price list. 25 LBS green peas only $6.50!!!! When sprouted, they taste just like fresh raw peas out of the garden!!! Also garbanzo beans and lima beans are delicious sprouted! All at low prices at honeyville! Immediate delivery!

-- freddie (freddie@thefreeloader.com), October 08, 1999.

freddie,

I'm a bit nervous that the peas are not explicitly stated to be for sprouting. What's your take? Are you sprouting with these peas now?

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (faryna@groupmail.com), October 08, 1999.


I bought a 1 lb. bag of untreated dry whole green peas in a health food store for $1.50 to try them out. My jar was too little - you need a quart jar for just a tablespoon or so of dry peas. They really get big and they do taste wonderful, just like fresh raw peas. They're a bit time-consuming after they're sprouted, because you have to break off the pea shell, unlike smaller sprouts that don't require this. But they're worth it. Brocolli seed- expensive but very good taste and they contain important amino acids in abundance. $8. for a lb of those, but there are jillions of them! Alfalfa- cheap & good; radish- good & peppery. I get all my sprouting seeds at the health food store because I don't need larger amounts but I know the website(s) named have better prices.

Keep them in the dark (cover jars with a towel) as long as they're growing, but start eating them as soon as they look big enough and before they're grown enough to have to refrigerate. They taste better before they've been chilled.

All you need is a few jars, some cheesecloth, and rubber bands to hold it on. Y2K salad.

-- Scat (sgcatique@webtv.net), October 08, 1999.



Okay, I can't resist.

I saw other instructions for "Y2K salad" on a tongue-in-cheek recipe site called Camp TEOTWAWKI, I think.

To paraphrase: Take a tall glass, drop in a chunk of icicle from outside, pour in a 6 oz. can of tomato juice. Add vodka to fill. Presto. Y2K Salad.

-- Scat (sgcatique@webtv.net), October 09, 1999.


Stan Farina, all beans (peas included) are seeds and they will all sprout!!! The smart entrepreneur simply buys in bulk and devides it into small packages and makes a huge profit on peoples stupidity!

Come on Stan, don't be stupid as stupid does, buy bulk and save!!!!

Who in the hell determines when a seed is for sprouting and when it does not? The smart entrepreneur will tell many lies!!!!

-- freddie (freddie@thefreeloader.com), October 09, 1999.


I have a 3-tier sprouter. I start one tray today, wait two days, then start another tray, then on the third day I start another so that I have sprouts everyday. I bought my sprouter at Lucky's Foods, but I have seen them at WalMart too. There's books out on how to sprout and I have two by "The Sproutman." He's also on the web just do a search for "The Sproutman." You can order organic seeds from him in bulk. My favorites seeds to sprout are broccoli and a mixture of mung beans. You must change the water EVERYDAY. I use distilled water for my sprouts. I don't pour the water down the drain though, I use it to water my other plants with. Also, it only takes 1 tablespoon of seeds to make enough sprouts for 2-3 servings. They are excellent to eat by themselves, in salads or soups.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 10, 1999.

How often you rinse them depends mostly on the temperature. In hot weather they need rinsing a couple of times a day. In cooler weather they nust need it often enough to stay moist. Be sure you are using untreated seeds. I've sprouted losts of peas and also love the fresh pea taste. We don't bother to take off the skin of the pea. Mung skins, either. Too much trouble. And a bit of extra fiber, hey? Sprouts that you want to green up (alfalfa, wheat grass, sunflower seeds...) will have to have some light after the first day or so. Chlorophyll is a VERY healing substance. Chlorophyll (plant blood) and hemoglobin (people blood) are almost identical. Chlor. is great for building good blood. And for purifying your blood, hence your whole body. People's lives have been saved by it. It'd be great to have when good veggies are hard to get. I do not recommend alfalfa for sprouting, however. Has one bad natural chemical in it that is not healthy. Overall, mung beans are the easiest and tops nutritionally. Some things don't sprout so well (Some sprout, some rot.), but mungs are EASY. Just be sure to pick out the few that do not sprout but remain hard as little stones, to protect your teeth. (This is actually Mother Nature's wisdom. She makes some that will sprout only after being under water for some time, to save the species if there is a bad flood.) Remember, sprouted beans cook in just minutes, and no gas because the heavy proteins have already been converted by Nature into amino acids. What a deal.

-- Shivani Arjuna (SArjuna@aol.com), October 10, 1999.

Everyone,

Thanks for all the responses!!! Time for me to start some sprouting!! thanks again.. Michael

-- Michael (michael813@yahoo.com), October 11, 1999.



You might want to check out www.sproutpeople.com both/either for organic seeds to sprout and/or for complete instructions on sprouting their different mixes of seeds. They also sell Y2K packs to provide 1oz/day, 2oz/day etc. It's worth checking out just for the detailed instructions on sprouting.

-- Dennis Law (PaulLaw@aol.com), October 12, 1999.

Shivani, please come back.

WHAT bad natural chemical is in alfalfa seeds? I hadn't read this and want to know. I've been rabidly anti food additives & chemicals for 25 years, until I started prepping for Y2K. Now I grit my teeth & buy the stuff that's full of them, figuring additives won't hurt me as much as hunger. But I'm a person who won't even use hair color on my graying old head because of the chemicals.

Which one is in my innocent little alfalfa seeds?

Thanks.

-- Scat (sgcatique@webtv.net), October 12, 1999.


I just got my weekly email from Karen Anderson, #63, and it deals mainly with sprouting safety. You can email her at karen@y2kwomen.com

Ask for article #63. Has lots of good information.

Margo

-- Margo (margos@bigisland.com), October 14, 1999.


Freddie,

Ok. Ok. I'll get bulk peas. But I'd like your advice. Should I bucket them in smaller packages so they don't get moistened accidently once the bag is opened?

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (faryna@groupmail.com), October 16, 1999.


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