Sprouting seeds

Sprouts do not need to be cooked before consumption and can be eaten on their own but are delicious added to sandwiches and wraps, soup, stir fry, dips, casseroles etc and also make a nice garnish.

To get started growing your own sprouts all you need is some seed and a wide necked jar with a mesh lid or some muslin and water.

At Aconbury we offer a Living Foods Sprouting kit which contains all you need to get started with the most popular variety of seeds for sprouting.

Add one or two tablespoons of seed to a clean jar, fill with water (from the tap is fine) and leave them to soak overnight. In the morning strain the water from the jar through the mesh lid or with muslin attached by a rubber band/string etc. Then rinse the seed by swirling some fresh water around in the jar. Drain the water away and leave the seed to do their magic. You will need to rinse the seed every morning, sometimes twice a day in warmer weather. Your sprouts will be ready when the seeds all have a “tail” one to two centimetres long. Depending on the variety this can take just a couple of days or up to a week. Once they are ready they can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

But what seeds to sprout? We would recommend choosing organic seed as they will be free of chemicals so you really will be consuming 100% nutritious sprouts. It is also important to pick seeds that are free of their husks as these can be tough and hard to eat. Alfalfa, chickpeas and mung beans are the seeds most often associated with sprouts but there is a wide range that are suitable for growing in a jar. These include aduki beans, lentils, radish, fenugreek, red clover, broccoli and sunflower to name but a few.

In addition to the kit we stock a wide variety of seed and also spare jars so you can have more than one variety on the go at the same time. Our seeds have all been tested for their germination properties as well as pathogens e-coli, salmonella and listeria so you can rest assured you are buying from a quality source.

Sprouting in jars is very easy but a few tips may be useful...

If you see white “hair” appearing don't panic, it's not mould, it's the seed telling you they need more water and they're putting out “hairs” to find so so just give them an extra rinse, they're perfectly harmless.

Some seed can go slimy if they don't get enough air, if it looks like this is happening give them another rinse and don't put the lid/mesh covering back on so that the air can circulate more freely.