Grayma
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Lentil sprouts are cheap, tasty, and delicious in salads in place of lettuce.
To make sprouts I put about 1/8 of a cup of lentils (you can use the ones you buy at the grocery store) in a large, wide mouth jar (a canning jar about the size of a mayonaisse jar). I fill it with water and soak overnight. I take a square from an old nylon stocking (clean, of course), stretch it over the top of the jar and then secure it with a rubber band or a canning jar ring. Drain the sprouts and set them down at an angle in your dish drainer so that they will continue to drain.
Rinse and drain the sprouts three times a day for three days. They are ready to eat when the sprout is as long as the seed, and the seed is basically an empty husk.
To store these, line a plastic bag with a paper towel and put the sprouts inside the papertowel. This will absorb moisture and keep them fresh longer.
These instructions are basically the same for any sort of sprout. We have sprouted mung beans, wheat berries, alfalfa seeds, fenugreek seeds, and broccoli this way. Broccoli and sunflower sprouts are the healthiest, and it is also the most expensive, and for me, the most difficult. I did not have much success at all and won't try the broccoli or sunflower seed sprouts again.
The lentil sprouts are good in sandwiches, on salads, and in stir fries. I like a sandwich made with just butter, lentil sprouts, and garlic. Cheese is always good, too.
I also just read about sprouting garbanzo beans- you soak them in water for 24 hours, then put them in a bag made of either cheesecloth or a bit of an old (or new ) knee-high stocking, hang from the faucet and rince three times a day. They are ready when they have little sprouts off the ends.
But if the garbanzo bean (or chick pea) has its pointed tip broken off from the tumbling process at the factory it won't sprout.
To make sprouts I put about 1/8 of a cup of lentils (you can use the ones you buy at the grocery store) in a large, wide mouth jar (a canning jar about the size of a mayonaisse jar). I fill it with water and soak overnight. I take a square from an old nylon stocking (clean, of course), stretch it over the top of the jar and then secure it with a rubber band or a canning jar ring. Drain the sprouts and set them down at an angle in your dish drainer so that they will continue to drain.
Rinse and drain the sprouts three times a day for three days. They are ready to eat when the sprout is as long as the seed, and the seed is basically an empty husk.
To store these, line a plastic bag with a paper towel and put the sprouts inside the papertowel. This will absorb moisture and keep them fresh longer.
These instructions are basically the same for any sort of sprout. We have sprouted mung beans, wheat berries, alfalfa seeds, fenugreek seeds, and broccoli this way. Broccoli and sunflower sprouts are the healthiest, and it is also the most expensive, and for me, the most difficult. I did not have much success at all and won't try the broccoli or sunflower seed sprouts again.
The lentil sprouts are good in sandwiches, on salads, and in stir fries. I like a sandwich made with just butter, lentil sprouts, and garlic. Cheese is always good, too.
I also just read about sprouting garbanzo beans- you soak them in water for 24 hours, then put them in a bag made of either cheesecloth or a bit of an old (or new ) knee-high stocking, hang from the faucet and rince three times a day. They are ready when they have little sprouts off the ends.
But if the garbanzo bean (or chick pea) has its pointed tip broken off from the tumbling process at the factory it won't sprout.