Home grown sprouts are excellent, and when they reach the size you want you just keep them in the fridge in the jar where you grew them, not covered tightly. While they grow (room temp, not hot), they need rinsing 2 - 3 times a day, and you can rinse daily after they are chilled -- but consuming them soon is best. The small seeds like alfalfa, radish and clover work out well.
Bean seeds (mung, lentil, chickpea, and more) are a bit different. Home growers only let the 'tail' grow about as long as the seed. Sometimes they have to be cooked for eating, especially soybean. The long crisp tails on commercial mung beans grown from an intense process involving a sort of force feeding of water, so you might not be able to duplicate that at home. (Bet there's a video online somewhere.)
So yes, fresh is best. Be really picky when and where you buy them. Ask the produce manager when the shipments come in and how you can get them at their freshest. Then, only buy them when you know you'll use them, handle them carefully and finish them quickly. My husband makes a mung sprout salad, using the entire bag, and eats it all.
@Sam1148, good info!
They're very easy to grow at home. You buy 'sprouting jars' and mung beans from health food stores. They just need water and rinsing every day. (the sprouting jars have a mesh top..so you rinse and dump each day). Cheese cloth and a glass jar works as well...secure the cloth with a rubber band.
A touch of citric acid (aka: sour salt) in the finishing water rinse prolongs their life. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg0909445628233.html
You can find citric acid powder in some middle eastern stores. (bonus: It also makes a "alkaseltzer" if you mix it in water with baking soda.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Imitation-Alka-Seltzer-for-a-fraction-of-the-cost/
Are you talking about the crispy bean sprouts or actual sprouts that are green and grow in their respective dirty patches?
Both types of sprouts require them to be fairly dry; for the crispy bean sprouts you buy in bulk, keep them dry in paper towels. Store in a container, being careful not to layer them too much over each other. You can alternate with paper towels.
With the sprouts that grow in patches, keep them moist by spraying them lightly with water. They need lots of air, so keep in a cool, dry place near the sun, but not so much they are burnt.
3 Comments
Bean seeds (mung, lentil, chickpea, and more) are a bit different. Home growers only let the 'tail' grow about as long as the seed. Sometimes they have to be cooked for eating, especially soybean. The long crisp tails on commercial mung beans grown from an intense process involving a sort of force feeding of water, so you might not be able to duplicate that at home. (Bet there's a video online somewhere.)
So yes, fresh is best. Be really picky when and where you buy them. Ask the produce manager when the shipments come in and how you can get them at their freshest. Then, only buy them when you know you'll use them, handle them carefully and finish them quickly. My husband makes a mung sprout salad, using the entire bag, and eats it all.
@Sam1148, good info!
A touch of citric acid (aka: sour salt) in the finishing water rinse prolongs their life. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg0909445628233.html
You can find citric acid powder in some middle eastern stores. (bonus: It also makes a "alkaseltzer" if you mix it in water with baking soda.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Imitation-Alka-Seltzer-for-a-fraction-of-the-cost/
Both types of sprouts require them to be fairly dry; for the crispy bean sprouts you buy in bulk, keep them dry in paper towels. Store in a container, being careful not to layer them too much over each other. You can alternate with paper towels.
With the sprouts that grow in patches, keep them moist by spraying them lightly with water. They need lots of air, so keep in a cool, dry place near the sun, but not so much they are burnt.