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| The 2nd greatest thing ever to happen to leafy sprouts! Our 2nd most popular leafy blend of all time! Seed to Sprout in 5 - 6 Days Nutritional info:
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| Sprout School & Shop Sprouting Seed Info Center |
Sprouting Instructions
Yields approximately 2 Cups (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Prep 2 Tablespoons of seed* then transfer (if necessary) into a bowl or into your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 8-12 hours.
Empty the seeds into your sprouter if necessary.
Drain off the soak water.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water
and Drain thoroughly.
Set anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
This is where your sprouts do their growing. We use a counter top - right in the middle of our kitchen. We don't mind the diffuse sunlight or the 150 watts of incandescent light, because light just does not matter much. A plant can only perform photosynthesis when it has leaves. Until then light has little if any effect, so don't hide your sprouts!
Rinse and Drain again every 8-12 hours for 3 days.
On the 4th day relocate your sprouts if necessary, for Greening.
Avoid direct sun it may cook your sprouts - Indirect sunlight is best but virtually any light will do. Experiment - you will be amazed at how little light sprouts require to green up.
Continue to Rinse and Drain every 8-12 hours.
Your last Rinse/Drain will be either at the end of day 5 or the start of day 6.
Your sprouts will be done about the end of Day 6. The majority of sprouts will have green leaves (you will recognize them).
You may De-Hull your sprouts at any time during day 5 or 6.
Refrigerate your sprouts no sooner than 8-12 hours after their final Rinse/Drain **
* If using Single Harvest Pack - use the whole bag.
These seeds yield approximately 7:1, so in theory you can start with as much as 1/7 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity (though we advise 1/8 so that you have some room to move).
We often start with 3 Tablespoons of seed but we don't mind the extra work involved in growing a dense crop. You may doubt that these little seeds will fill your sprouter, but they will. We advise everyone to start with 2 Tablespoons when learning to sprout these seeds.
** You may use a salad spinner to dry your sprouts
after De-Hulling/final Rinse and go directly to Refrigeration.
Notes:
When conditions are warmer your sprouts will likely grow faster. Likewise they may grow slower if conditions are very cool. As always 70° is optimal.
All sprouts generate heat while growing, which is a good thing, but it can get out of hand on occasion. When the weather is especially hot and humid you will do well to Rinse more frequently (every 8 hours if possible) using colder water than usual, to compensate.
Depending on your sprouting device, not all of your sprouts will have access to light and so some will not green. This is not only OK - it is good. The yellow sprouts will be equally nutritious (they have everything but chlorophyll) and many think them more delicious (in Europe vegetables are often grown "blanched" by avoiding light). We think they are prettier when there is a mix of green and yellow to go with the white roots. So don't sweat it - just eat more sprouts!
When using a non-tray sprouter, you can help your crop by "breaking up" your sprouts when they clump up - around day 3 or 4 and daily thereafter. We use high water pressure when Rinsing to keep our sprouts loose, but this only works for so long - so - when water isn't enough, break the clump of sprouts up using a fork or your fingers (wash your hands first please, if they need it). If you are using a sprouter that can hold water, fill it mostly full then use a fork to loosen. You can also dump your sprouts onto or into something and just shake them apart. This is by no means mandatory - this loosening - but it can be helpful in keeping your sprouts from overheating and will help more of them green. You should never be afraid*** of touching your sprouts. They are much stronger then they appear - just be reasonably gentle.
Vertical Growing
This method produces very pretty sprouts that green most evenly and whose hulls are removed most easily. They do not however, taste any better =:-}
If you grow in a Tray sprouter - like SproutMaster, your sprouts can grow vertically - leaves (cotyledons) up, roots down. The trick to doing this is to keep your sprouts in place (don't "break them up" as you do in a non-tray sprouter) from day 3 onward. It is easy to do if, when rinsing, you use a sprayer (that attachment most sinks have - the one that pulls out and is gun-like or a faucet attachment that offers spraying when pulled down) instead of your faucet. We have grown many tons of leafy sprouts this way. Here is a breakdown of the specifics (rinse numbers are based on 12 hour intervals - adjust as needed):
Rinse 1 (right after soak): Use faucet or sprayer and rinse thoroughly (use water at high pressure and use plenty of it).
Rinse 2 and 3: Use faucet or sprayer and rinse thoroughly.
Rinse 4: Use sprayer and while rinsing thoroughly, spray your sprouts evenly accross the bottom of the tray. You can use your hands to spread them too. The goal is to spread them evenly.
Rinse 5 and 6: Use sprayer with less water pressure. Rinse well - (which since you are using less water pressure means - for a longer time) but don't disturb the sprouts.
Rinse 7 - 10: Use sprayer. You can turn the water pressure back to high - your sprouts will not be easily moved (broken up) at this point and the higher water pressure feeds oxygen to your sprouts as well as "cleaning" them, which is a wonderful way to produce healthy long lasting sprouts. Rinse and drain thoroughly.
Rinse 11 (if you need this many) or your last rinse: Use Sprayer. Hold your tray at an angle (90° will work but less is OK too) and spray across the top of the sprouts to remove hulls. We call this SHAVING and it can be done at any rinse or every rinse - starting when hulls begin to be shed by the opening leaves. Rinse down into the sprouts too.
Vertical growing CAN be done without a sprayer too but it is more difficult. If you want to try all you have to do is regulate your water pressure - trying to keep your sprouts undisturbed during rinses 4 - 6.
Ingredient Note
All references to Garlic on sproutpeople.com or any other sprouting seed supplier refers to the seed produced by a Garlic Chive plant. Garlic does not produce seeds - it produces bulbils and bulbs. Garlic Chive is virtually identical in flavor to Garlic.
The Garlic Chives take longer to sprout than the rest of the mix. When we grow Italian Blend for our Farmer's Market and wholesale customers we sprout the Garlic for several days, then mix it in when the Clover and Cress mix is ready for rinse #3. Most of our home sprouting customers don't want the hassle of a 2-step process so we add more Garlic to the mix we sell here, and though they don't grow to their full size, the extra Garlic provides the flavor we get by growing in 2 steps. If you want to get even more Garlic flavor you can buy some Garlic Chive seed and mix it in like we do - at rinse #3 or you can eat it straight for maximum garlicosity!
When mixed in proper proportions with non-mucilaginous seeds, mucilaginous seeds will sprout using conventional (water only) sprouting methods! The proportion is our secret - it took us many failures before we figured it out - but it was well worth it! The flavors imparted by Cress is awesome!
*** The only thing to fear is fear itself.
The inclusion of Garlic and Cress - two amazingly tasty sprouts has made Italian Blend our 2nd most popular Leafy sprout blend of all time! Only French Garden is more popular.
A great way to enjoy Garlic Sprouts (which cost so darn much solo) along with other tasty nutritious sprouts.
Clover, Cress, Garlic
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We include a lot of garlic in this mix because it is slower to sprout than the rest of the seeds. The volume of Garlic seed provides the flavor we are after, but when we sprouted this for our farmers market, we sprouted the Garlic for several days and then mixed the sprouts in with the other seeds after they had sprouted for a day. We use less Garlic that way and the texture is slightly improved. Over the years, we have found that mixes that require 2 steps often scare folks away - that's why we sell this as a one-step mix, but we may add a 2-step option in the future for those of you who don't mind the challenge and want to experience Italian Blend at it's finest.
Sprouting Devices
for
Italian Blend
Follow links for detailed information
| Easy Sprout | | |
| SproutMaster | ||
| Tube with Lids | ||
| Jar and Lid | Visit Jar & Lid page for information and purchase | |
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| Miniature Garden | ||
| Hemp Bag | ||
Sprout Cookery
Follow links for recipes
Raw
Eating Ideas for Leafy Sprouts
Sprouts and Salads
Sprout Slaw
Awesome Potato Salad
Gazpacho
Tropical Gazpacho
Sprout Omelette
Cooked
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