I've sprouted beans before, but usually in a jar with a piece of muslin fastened over the top. It works ok this way, but is not ideal. You need quite a big jar, and if you don't drain it properly, the beans end up sitting in a layer water and can go mouldy.
Having dug a few half-used packets of sprouting beans out of the kitchen cupboard I decided it was time to try again - but this time with the right equipment. Bean sprouters can be bought for about £7, but I figured that this was just the sort of thing that someone was sure to have gathering dust in the back of a kitchen cupboard.
This was a job for Freecycle! I do a lot of offering on Freecycle, but not much wanting, so I posted my request with mixed feelings about the possible success rate. Within a couple of hours a very nice Freecycler nearby had offered a bean sprouter, and by the end of the day it was in my possession!
And what a nifty object it proves to be!
It has three 'shelves', each with thin slots in them to allow water to drain through. They fit together neatly to keep the inside relatively damp and prevent it from drying out totally.
First soak the beans overnight in water.
Put them in the sprouter and rinse them twice a day with fresh water. Keep the sprouter on a plate to catch the drips. You can grow two crops on the two shelves, staggering the sowing to ensure a supply of sprouts. Keep in natural light, but away from direct sunlight.
Er, that's it! Here's what you get after a few days.
Mix with pumpkin or sesame seeds, ripe tomatoes and avocados and you have the making of a very fine salad, or add to your sandwich in place of limp lettuce.
2 comments:
I'm impressed. Years since I have sprouted seeds.
I have done it quite successfully in mugs with kitchen towel in the bottom; ideally having a couple on the go at once, in various stages of sprouting. Never heard of a bean sprouter though, looks way easier -- I may have to keep an eye out for one! :)
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