Hulled (out of shell) Sunnys are a very quick crop. They soak for only an hour and are nutritional dynamos at that point. They don't store long, but they taste so good that that isn't usually a concern. Do not try to grow them longer or store them more than a day or so - they just don't do that. We consider these SOAKS, as opposed to SPROUTS.
Sprouting Instructions
Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Prep 2/3 Cup 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.
Soak for 1-2 hours.
Note: These seeds take up all the water they need quickly. Soaking too long can make them soggy. We soak them for 1 hour.
Empty the seeds into your sprouter (if necessary).
Drain off the soak water.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water.
Note: Sunnys tend to be a bit on the "dusty" side (it is a by product of the hulling process) so rinse and rinse some more - until the water runs clear from your sprouter.
Drain thoroughly.
We stop here!
We eat our entire crop of Soaks at this point.
Hulled Sunflowers will NEVER grow long edible sprouts. We stop sprouting before any root appears - while they are Soaks. The germ will bulge and that is more than enough. They are crunchy, nutritious and delicious.
As with all seeds, once they have soaked up water they are alive and are now super nutritious. They are already without enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you.
If you must refrigerate your Sunnys:
Set anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal).
The goal is to minimize the surface moisture of your crop - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch. That is why we refrigerate them 8-12 hour after the last (in this case only) Rinse.
Transfer your crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice - glass is good - and put them in your refrigerator - if you can keep from eating them all first.
Note: Sunny Sprouts do not store well in the refrigerator. We have kept them for 2 weeks at times but we expect only a couple days. They are so full of water and so tender that they usually develop brown spots and get soft - sorta like peaches - so we grow only what we need when we want them - they are so fast and so perfect when freshly sprouted we figure - why mess with perfection? Sprout More Often!
* If using Single Harvest Pack use the whole bag.
Remember that the yield will be approximately 1.5:1, so in theory you can start with as much as 2/3 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity.
170 Mendell St.
San Francisco, CA 94124
Toll Free:
877/777-6887
(877/SPROUTS)
We only use the phone for emergencies.
Back in 2001 we were still using the phone. One day I was talking to a long-time customer while pushing my (then 4 year old) daughter on the swing in our backyard (this is what a mom n' pop business is like on the internet). It dawned on me that my priorities were severely messed up, so I stopped using the phone. I love to talk and I love to help, but my family would never see me if I picked up the phone again, and that's just wrong don't you think?!
The very best way to contact us is through E-mail =:-)
We are quite fast and VERY thorough. We love to help.
We have been an internet only business since 2001. We are not a big corporation. We are but 2 people, Mom n' Pop Sprout. We decided after years of juggling our family's (kids, dogs, cats and even our own) needs, and the needs of Sproutpeople, that we had to make more time for our kids, so we stopped talking on the phone. All calls go to voice mail and have since 2001.
We are very fast to fill orders and answer e-mail, and though we wish we could make the time to talk, we just can't seem to get more minutes into a each hour. We are many years older than when we started and our days are too short and made up of too few hours to do everything. This limitation in our business has not kept us from pleasing our customers, nor from growing (as we have every year since 1993). We do what we do as well as we can, and we think we do it very well indeed.
We appreciate your patronage more than we can say. We ask that you use the phone for emergencies only and that you search our site for answers before e-mailing us. This site is bigger than any 4 sprout books put together, it is always available and it is free, and we know that almost all questions are answered here.
Thanks again for your support and your many kind words.
Sproutpeople