You have always wanted to be able to grow seeds and sprouts directly at your home, but you don’t know how to do
it.All this is possible thanks to a tool called a sprouting device , a container of various sizes and materials, inside which the seeds are placed. care and attention sprout giving their fruits.
It is a simple and healthy activity that can be carried out by everyone, as you do not need to have particular skills except patience and commitment and the seeds do not have a high cost. Furthermore, it is a way to always have various types of 0 km sprouts at hand, based on which ones you want to grow. Foods with a great nutritional value, rich in vitamins and mineral salts. But let’s try to understandwhat sprouts are , what they do and how they are consumed.
Index
- Sprouts: characteristics and properties
- Sprouter: how it works
- DIY sprouter: how to build it
Sprouts: characteristics and properties
First of all let’s try to understand what a sprout is . These are the seeds of plants, legumes or cereals which, once sprouted, are characterized by their high nutritional properties and are rich in mineral salts and vitamins, including A and B12, useful for the body and for those who prefer a vegetarian or vegan diet. In fact, they have many benefits for nutrition and are very healthy: they strengthen the immune and muscle systems, have anti-aging properties and improve mental agility. In addition, they help prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The choice of sproutsto cultivate and very large, in fact, you can choose from different ones, preferably organic. Among the most common we have: soy, beans, clover, rocket, lentils, wheat, radishes, leeks, barley and many others. The seeds can be found on the market in small packages at a low price, so they are also very cheap . Once sprouted, the latter can be eaten raw or cooked, even if in the latter case they risk losing some important nutritional qualities. They are highly digestible, easily assimilated by the body and rich in nutritional properties.
They are characterized by their delicate and not very marked flavor, which allows you to eat them both separately and together with other foods to enrich your courses. Taking into account that they also help in losing weight. They can be added to salads, yoghurt, inside dough fillings , but also with soups or bruschetta. Finally, when the sprouts are harvested they can be stored in the refrigerator for another five days. But now let’s see in detail how a sprouter works and how to germinate the seeds. Sprouter: how it works
As mentioned, to make the seeds germinatea seed germinator can be used. It is a particular container that facilitates the sprouting of the grains, avoiding the formation of mold and optimizing space. In fact, several species of seeds can be grown inside at the same time. A simple and fun food self -production process that can be done directly at your home, so you can immediately consume the sprouted seeds rich in vitamins and enzymes, adding them to your dishes. The sprouts can be easily found on the market made with different materials.
Mostly they are found in plastic, terracotta, ceramic, natural fabric and glass. Furthermore, they have various sizes, but they are not bulky at all, so they can be safely kept at home because they don’t take up too much space. Generally, they are divided into several compartments or drawers positioned one above the other, inside which various species of seeds can germinate at the same time. The various sectors have holes, so as to allow the passage of air and water to avoid, in fact, the formation of mold in the individual levels. Furthermore, at the base of the seed germinator there is a last drawer designed specifically to collect waste water.
Alternatively, you can opt for pot or bag sprouts.In this case, however, it is possible to cultivate only one type of seed, not being divided into compartments. They are, in fact, smaller than the classic ones. Depending on the model chosen and the material with which it is made, the sprouting plant will have different prices , starting from 15-20 euros upwards. The most expensive are certainly the automatic ones, i.e. those able to independently manage the watering cycles. But now let’s move on to the practice and see how a sprouter is actually used.
We have repeatedly said that everyone can germinate their seeds comfortably at home thanks to the use of this particular tool which, in its simplicity, does not require special skills. Before placing the seeds inside the sprouter, the first thing to do is to soak them in water and leave them like this for a whole night or according to the time indicated in the instructions on the packaging. Later, the next morning, the seeds must be drained , so as to remove the excess water, and must be placed on the various shelves of the sprouting device.
There are a few tricks to get the seeds to germinate quickly. First of all, they need a lot of light to germinate, so do the trick and place them in a bright space, but not in contact with the sun’s rays or heat sources. The second advice, however, is to vaporize them a couple of times a day using a spray bottle, but without exaggerating, so as to avoid the risk of mold. Finally, it is advisable to interchange the drawers so that even the lower ones can be exposed to light.
Within one or five days depending on their type, the seeds will open and the rootlets and the first leaves of the plant will begin to appear. At that point they will be ready to be collected and consumed. It is not recommended to let them germinate beyond the fifth day because, while continuing to grow, they risk losing their beneficial properties. For those starting from scratch, the sprouter turns out to be a very useful tool, but it is actually possible to create one using some tools that you may very well find in your kitchens. So, let’s see together how to build a sprout with a few simple objects. Do-it-yourself sprouter: how to build it
One of the simplest and most homemade methods to make a seed sprouter is certainly the use of a glass jar, especially suitable for growing smaller seeds , such as rocket. To complete the sprouting, just cover the opening of the container with a gauze or a net fixed with an elastic that will allow the entry and exit of the water. In fact, once placed on the bottom of the jar, the seeds must be wet and left to soakfor the time needed. Afterwards, the container must be turned upside down so that the water escapes through the retina, thus also avoiding the creation of mold. The operation will be repeated a couple of times a day. Another idea for growing smaller seeds is to use a tightly meshed strainer that will have to be placed on top of a glass or bowl to drain the water.
Alternatively, you can use a colander if you have larger seeds. Another very easy method to build a do-it-yourself sprouting plant is certainly the use of the classic soup plates . On one of the two, just place a wet cotton cloth where the seeds previously left will be placedto soak , while the other must be placed on top to act as a lid. The seeds must be wetted a couple of times a day using a colander and then repositioned on the plate. Alternatively, you can opt for plastic food trays, the bottom of which must be perforated to allow the passage of water once the seeds have been placed.
In this case, two other trays can be used : one to collect the water that drains, placing it under the first, and the other to act as a lid. With this method, moreover, it is possible to reproduce a seed sprouterlike those found on the market. Just place the trays on top of each other to create more floors and grow different types of seeds. If you want to avoid the use of plastic, you can opt for a container with a terracotta lid , following the method of dishes and placing a wet cloth on the bottom where the seeds are placed. If in your home you have a steamer basket you can use it as an alternative to the classic sprouts , especially for larger seeds such as lentils.
Also in this case, after having left them to soak and drain, they will be placed on the bottom of the basket and covered with a cloth to encourage germination. There are so many other methods forbuild do-it-yourself sprouts. Use fruit crates, especially for those who have a larger space and want to grow a large amount of sprouts. Or the spinner for the hand-cranked salad, already set up to act as a sprout: inside the container there is, in fact, a perforated basket in which you can place the seeds and then cover them with the lid. Just arm yourself with creativity.
