Sunday, December 30, 2012

Sprouting Wheat - A rough start

As one of my new skills this year, I have started to learn how to sprout seeds mainly grains.  Sprouting your grains increases their nutrient values and makes the grain easier to digest.  My first two attempts at sprouting wheat ended in only a few sprouts and a of fermented stink.  Sprouted grains should not smell fermented at any point of the process.

Sprouting Grain Process

  • Sprouting seeds typically involves soaking your seeds for 8-12 hours
  • Followed by a good rinse every 8-12 hours
  • Rinse and Repeat
  • Sprouting takes several days to a week depending on how long you intend the tails (roots) to be.

Where I went wrong

I used a glass mason jar which is a good acceptable method for sprouting.  The problem I had is after I rinsed I did not get enough of the moisture off of the wheat.  I did not have any sort of screened lid for the jar and tried to shake all of the water out.  It didn't work well and my first two batches failed with only a few sprouts.  I saw a few videos on You Tube showing waving the jar upside down over the sink in a circle using centrifugal forces to draw off the the excess water.

On the second batch I tried to shake out the best I could with my fingers over the jar then screw the lid on over top of a paper towel and hang it upside down over a cup.  This didn't work well either, I believe because there was no air circulation.  I have tried a method or two since and will post some updates in the next week.

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