Stocking up (and Sprouting 101)

[blissful]

@larry_stewart I'll have to give lentils a try at sprouting. I haven't sprouted those yet.

@taxlady I was telling you the blackberries cooked up red, but when reduced by half the puree/jam is black. Here's what they look like steaming in the roaster.

 

[larry_stewart]

@larry_stewart I'll have to give lentils a try at sprouting. I haven't sprouted those yet.

@taxlady I was telling you the blackberries cooked up red, but when reduced by half the puree/jam is black. Here's what they look like steaming in the roaster.

Those look so good !!

I never thought much about sprouting lentils, until years ago ( more like decades ago) I had no sprouting seeds left in stock, so I used what I had. Just regular , everyday brown lentils. Worked like a charm.

 

[blissful]

Yesterday's reduced produce was only 1/2 a grocery paper bag of bananas, 99 cents for 25 bananas.
Today 9 bags, mostly fruit 3-4 lbs each, 99 cents each:
apples
tangerines
pomelos w/limes
lemons
oranges
pomelos w/grapefruit
a large head of cauliflower
2 bags of chopped salad
I have sliced lemons and limes in the dehydrator for teas, the sliced off ends in the freezer for me to use first in my herbal teas. The cauliflower is cleaned and prepped for cauliflower wings in the next couple days. We'll eat a lot of fruit this week.
PItted dates went down to $5.99/2 lbs, so I wrapped brasil nuts in dates to keep in the freezer, we eat two brazil nuts the first two sundays of each month, for selenium.

 

[blissful]

Today's $4 produce lottery gave us tomatoes, asian pears, tangelos, and apples.
$4 doesn't buy much these days but I'm happy with this!
I'm dehydrating some tomatoes (in winter!), some apples, and bananas from last week. We eat a LOT of produce from fresh when we can get it but there is a little too much hanging around so I dehydrate.

 

[blissful]

Our Grocery store again had the blackberries from Mexico in the reduced produce area, 33 cents/6 ounces. We bought $36 worth, so over 36 lbs. (40ish lbs) We put them in two 18 qt roasters last night in the garage, and plugged them in, in the house, this morning. They are heavy.
I prepped 36 8-oz canning jars running them through the dishwasher last night.
We cook them down to half, there is usually little liquid and it mounds on the spoon. Depending on sweetness we'll add the least amount of sugar/or honey, for our taste. These will be gifts for Christmas.

 

[dragnlaw]

May i be on your Christmas List?
I can't eat fresh raspberries or blackberries but I can have them cooked.

 

[blissful]

@Jusa
I sprouted the mung beans, instead of in jars, in a sieve.
Take about 1/2 cup mung beans, soak for 24 hours.
In a bowl, with a sieve in it, layer a towel (cloth cotton) on the bottom, then the mung beans, then another cotton towel. Top with a plate, set a 1 qt jar of water on top to weigh it down. (now it stays dark, no sunlight)
Rinse the beans by running water over the top towel, let it drain, put the sieve/towel/beans/towel back in the bowl, top with plate and jar. Do this every 12 hours for 5-6 days.
It worked GREAT!

To remove the seed coats, put the sprouts in the bowl, fill with water, mix around, take the sprouts (they float) out by the handful, then strain the water and seed coats (they sink) through another sieve. Repeat three times and most of the seed coats will be strained out.
Store in a 1 gallon zip lock with a dry towel to keep the sprouts dry and they last longer in the fridge that way.

 

[Jusa]

@Jusa
I sprouted the mung beans, instead of in jars, in a sieve.
Take about 1/2 cup mung beans, soak for 24 hours.
In a bowl, with a sieve in it, layer a towel (cloth cotton) on the bottom, then the mung beans, then another cotton towel. Top with a plate, set a 1 qt jar of water on top to weigh it down. (now it stays dark, no sunlight)
Rinse the beans by running water over the top towel, let it drain, put the sieve/towel/beans/towel back in the bowl, top with plate and jar. Do this every 12 hours for 5-6 days.
It worked GREAT!

To remove the seed coats, put the sprouts in the bowl, fill with water, mix around, take the sprouts (they float) out by the handful, then strain the water and seed coats (they sink) through another sieve. Repeat three times and most of the seed coats will be strained out.
Store in a 1 gallon zip lock with a dry towel to keep the sprouts dry and they last longer in the fridge that way.

I've got several mixed sprout blends and I've got some mason jars I wanted to convert into sprouting jars. Hoping to get some going soon.

 

[medtran49]

I've got several mixed sprout blends and I've got some mason jars I wanted to convert into sprouting jars. Hoping to get some going soon.

I got some mung beans off Amazon months and months ago and have had 100% sproutage (is that a word?). It's super easy, soak overnight, drain, cover with cheesecloth and close with a rubber band or the ring, keep in a place at low 70s, rinse and drain twice a day, keep covered so little to no light gets to them. It has taken 5-7 days depending on temperature.

Oh, start with 1/8 cup the first time so you can get an idea of how much they make. I used 1/4 cup my first time and the quart jar was literally packed by the time they were done sprouting.

I scoop out the husks that come off when I rinse them because I find them to be a bit bitter.

 

[Jusa]

Nvmnd.

 

[blissful]

I've got several mixed sprout blends and I've got some mason jars I wanted to convert into sprouting jars. Hoping to get some going soon.

I had tried sprouting the mung beans in my quart jars with the sprouting lids but the beans kept discoloring. I tried to put a towel around them to keep the sun off of them, but the damage was done already. Maybe put a towel over them to shield them from the day light when they are started will help.

 

[Jusa]

I had tried sprouting the mung beans in my quart jars with the sprouting lids but the beans kept discoloring. I tried to put a towel around them to keep the sun off of them, but the damage was done already. Maybe put a towel over them to shield them from the day light when they are started will help.

We don't get much sun in winter so now is probably a great time to start!

 

[taxlady]

I used to grow mung beans in a jar under the kitchen sink. Nice and dark there.

 

[medtran49]

We don't get much sun in winter so now is probably a great time to start!

You need to keep them in the dark, not just low light. I covered with a dish towel.

Since, I purchased a sprouting container. It has a bottom you can soak in, 2 sizes of grids, and a deep cover with a tiny hole for rinsing.

 

[Jusa]

You need to keep them in the dark, not just low light. I covered with a dish towel.

Since, I purchased a sprouting container. It has a bottom you can soak in, 2 sizes of grids, and a deep cover with a tiny hole for rinsing.

So what about microgreens? Why do sprouts have to be kept in the dark?

 

[pepperhead212]

Here are all the things I keep around for sprouting. The white ended one is the one I use the most, the green ended one if I need more, the opaque ones if I need something to keep from getting any green in them. Green isn't really a bad thing, with sprouts - just a visual thing to keep them white. There's actually more nutrients in sprouts, when they start turning green - not something like rhubarb, that you shouldn't eat when it turns green!

I make a lot of Indian, and other dishes, where the legumes are sprouted, but just sprouts the length of the bean; same with grains. It's amazing how much a quick sprout (usually just a soaking, and 24 hrs or less) will increase many of the nutrients in seeds.
All the sprouting paraphernalia that I have. The tube thing, and the mason jar caps I got in the 70s! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's something else I sometimes use these sprouters for. When I am having a problem spouting some (usually old) seeds, I'll soak some, then put them in a level of one of those sprouters, then rinse it frequently, like when sprouting any seeds. I keep it by the sink, and rinse it more often than usual, and if the seeds won't sprout, using this method, they're dead, for sure. I also use this for pre-sprouting seeds like parsley, that normally take weeks to germinate, whereas they usually start in just 7-8 days, with this frequent rinsing.

 

[larry_stewart]

I just started sprouting again this past week. . Primarily different kinds of lentils, but may to soy beans this week too. . Never tried the sieve method, but would like to.

 

[medtran49]

So what about microgreens? Why do sprouts have to be kept in the dark?

They stay more white and taste better. The sprouts from the Asian market always had a kind of bitter/metallic taste to me. I'll pick at the ones I grow while I'm prepping and cooking the rest of the meal, and, if I'm honest, when I rinse after their tails have grown out a bit.

Microgreens need the light to grow. Mung beans don't.

 

[Jusa]

They stay more white and taste better. The sprouts from the Asian market always had a kind of bitter/metallic taste to me. I'll pick at the ones I grow while I'm prepping and cooking the rest of the meal, and, if I'm honest, when I rinse after their tails have grown out a bit.

Microgreens need the light to grow. Mung beans don't.

My seeds are blends. I don't have any mung beans in there.