Between midterms, having a cold, and this outrageous winter, I haven’t really been consistent with my grocery shopping. My veggie supply is running out. I was considering growing all kinds of veggies in my living room, but after doing some research and asking around, I’ve concluded that it’s not worth it. I decided to make lentil sprouts instead.
They require so little effort and are ready in just a few days. In theory, this works with anything that has seeds. Herbs, beans, chia seeds, you name it. For more gelatinous seeds, I hear you need special equipment though, so don’t try this method with chia seeds. If this is your first time, I recommend you try this with your favourite kind of bean.
I’m looking into getting a sprouter because I’d like to do a lot of sprouting, but having gotten so excited about getting started, I didn’t want to wait until I had the sprouter to start. Today, I show you a method to sprout that you can try with what you already have at home.
Lentil Sprouts
What you need
A jar
A strainer, cheesecloth, or pantyhose
An elastic
Seeds to sprout
An abundance of water
How to proceed
If you’re using some kind of bean, start by sorting through them and picking out the ones with spots on them. Then, rinse the seeds thoroughly. To give you an idea of the amount you might want to use, after your initial soaking, the beans will have more than doubled in size, and once they start sprouting, your batch will increase in size even more. Many website suggest starting with half a cup to one cup.
Once you’ve rinsed the beans, place them in a large jar. They shouldn’t take up more than about a third of the jar. Pour water in the jar almost all the way to the top. The jar needs to be covered but it needs to be able to breathe as well, so this is where the cheesecloth or the pantyhose comes in handy. I had neither, so for this step, I used paper towel. Keep it in place around the rim of the jar with an elastic. Let it sit for up to a day in a cool place.
Once it’s been sitting for no more than a day, the seeds need to be rinsed very well to avoid mold. If you have cheesecloth or pantyhose, this can be done directly in the jar through the fabric. Because I had neither, I transferred the set-up to my strainer. Once you’re done rinsing, make sure you’ve gotten rid of every last drop of water. Leaving water at the bottom of the jar will increase chances of mold.
From this point on, you want to rinse the seeds/sprouts every 8-12 hours and keep them dry otherwise until they’re done. This can be anywhere between 2 and 7 days, depending on the temperature in your dwelling and how you like your sprouts to look. To store them in the fridge, make sure they are very well dried. They can be kept in a ziploc bag or a plastic container.
If you’re not sure what to do with the sprouts once they’re done, you can eat them straight, or put them in salads, sandwiches, or whatever recipes you find online. I really enjoyed my lentil sprouts in salad.
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