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Should we eat sprouts raw or boiled?

Sprouting encourages bacteria to grow so it's best if sprouts are cooked to kill the bacteria. Secondly, raw sprouts contain irritating substances which are deactivated by cooking. Just steam or boil them in water until tender.

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] T[/dropcap]oday I want to get you excited about the sprouting possibilities and share with you a few things you should know about sprouting – including my super easy step-by-step (video) guide to sprouting at home.

But first a story…

Most of my major life decisions have been based on something to do with food or wine. For example, when it came time to choose a thesis topic for my food science degree, I decided to look at the bacterial populations in Blue Vein and Camembert cheese.

Why cheese? Part of the study happened to included a ‘sensory evaluation’.

Hello cheese tasting.

During that long honours year, I spent lots of quality time in the food micro lab. So I became good friends with Colette who was studying bacteria in bean sprouts. Yep bean sprouts. And no I didn’t volunteer to help with any ‘sensory evaluations’.

Colette taught me a lot about the bacteria in sprouts.

Let’s just say there was a lot of activity – not necessarily the ‘probiotic’ or friendly bacteria kind.

So neither of us were very keen to eat sprouts.

And that’s pretty much how things were for me and sprouts over the years, until recently when I read a book called ‘Essential Eating, The Digestible Diet’ by Janie Quinn. The thing that really piqued my interest was Quinn’s comments on the nutritional benefits of sprouting. Her theory is that after sprouting grains and legumes are recognised in our bodies as vegetables rather than starches. Essentially, the sprouting process turns grains and legumes into living plants with more nutrients available for our bodies to use.

Plus they’re easier to digest.

I’ve been getting into sprouting quite a bit lately.

It’s heaps of fun and no where near as tricky or time consuming as it sounds at first.

5 things you should know about sprouting at home

1. Sprouting is fun!

Seriously, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy checking in on my sprouts each day as they come to life.

2. Sprouts contain more available nutrients

As I mentioned above, sprouting turns legumes and grains into living plants with more vitamins, such as Vitamin C, B and carotene. It also helps the absorption of minerals.

3. Sprouts are easier to digest

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The sprouting process reduces the presence of ‘anti-nutrients’ such as phytates which cause problems with digestion. It breaks down complex starches that can cause the ‘gas’ associated with beans and legumes. Sprouting also produces enzymes which aid digestion.

4. Sprouts cook quicker

The soaking and sprouting softens grains and legumes so they cook in a fraction of the time of their dried counterparts.

5. Sprouts are best if cooked

Two reasons for this. Sprouting encourages bacteria to grow so it’s best if sprouts are cooked to kill the bacteria. Secondly, raw sprouts contain irritating substances which are deactivated by cooking.

Just steam or boil them in water until tender.

Step-by-step guide to sprouting at home

It may seem like a lot of work, but when you try it you’ll see it’s literally 1-2 minutes of activity each day. And it’s so much fun seeing your little sprout ‘pets’ come to life.

1. Day 1.

Wash seeds / legumes. Place in a jar or bowl and cover generously with cold water.

2. Day 2. morning

Drain the water. Place a piece of cloth over the neck of the jar and secure with a rubber band. Place jar in a bowl with the cloth covered side down so the excess water will drain out. OR place your legumes / grains on a tea towel inside a strainer or colander, again so the excess water can drain away.

3. Day 2. evening

Rinse your legumes / grain well then return to their draining position.

4. Day 3. morning

Repeat the rinsing step from last evening.

5. Ongoing

Continue to rinse and drain your sprouts twice a day (or there abouts, it won’t be the end of the world if you skip a few sessions). The sprouts are ready when you can see little tails that are about the same length as the original seed / legume.