We love adding sprouts to everything from sandwiches to falafel to salads, but they can get expensive to continually buy. One day we decided to look into how sprouts are made and we found it to be surprisingly simple. We figured this would be a perfect opportunity to experiment with making something from scratch that we have always bought in the past. While growing sprouts is a multi-day process, it is very simple and only requires beans and water. It is very fun to watch them grow and expand each day and can be an especially fun project for children.
The first time we tried this we used lentils, and most recently used mungbeans. We've heard of many different bean varieties being used, most commonly alfalfa, but love the heartiness that comes with lentils. We encourage you to try making these as a fun experiment and let us know which is your bean of choice!
Lentil Sprouts
1 cup lentils (or bean of your choice)
Water
Container with perforated holes (We first tried a mason jar with cheese cloth, but found the cheese cloth molded too much, so then switched to aluminum foil for the top. We later used a tupperware container with perforated holes in the lid.)
Rinse lentils thoroughly, then soak in water for 8 hours or overnight. After soaking, rinse lentils and place in container with holes facing downward on a cooling rack. Only fill each container up 1/4 of the way so they have room to expand as they grow. Every 12 hours rinse beans to prevent molding and remove any beans that are rotting. After about a day you should begin to see small sprouts forming from the beans. Continue rinsing and allowing them to grow until desired sized is reached, about 4 days. Store in airtight container with damp paper towel on top in the refrigerator.
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| Soaking |
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| Day 1 |
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| Day 2 |
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| Day 3 |
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| Day 4 |
