Sprouting Seeds for Food

Discussion in 'The Green Patch' started by Ganado, Apr 27, 2016.


  1. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    I like to eat sprouts with my salads and as a vegetable. Radish and alfalfa sprouts are an excellent spicy crunch!

    I use to use cheese cloth but that seems to attract more mold and bacteria and its only one use.

    Then I tried these lids with a quart jar which was ok but they get old and they don't drain all that well
    Amazon.com: Sprout-Ease - Econo-Sprouter Toppers Set - 3 Piece(s): Health & Personal Care
    [​IMG]

    then I found a screen i can use with canning jar rings but $8 seems alot to pay for this and it just looks like wire mesh.
    [​IMG]
    Amazon.com: Sprouting Screen: Wide Mouth Sprouting Lid: Kitchen & Dining

    Any ideas where I could just get just the mesh in stainless steel?

    or maybe screen door material would work.

    Any ideas?
     
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  2. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    Google is your friend...the ones on eBay looked interesting but I didn't look at a lot of the others.
    Google
     
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  3. T. Riley

    T. Riley Monkey+++

    Walmart sells rolls of screen. I would think the nylon screen would work well and not rust.
     
  4. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    You can get all the screen you want in various mesh sizes, material types etc. at McMaster-Carr. Go to McMaster.com to search, select and order.

    Related comment: Sprouts can indeed be a survival food.
    I was in high school with a kid whose father survived the Bataan Death March. Once in the prison camp they were fed very little and mostly just rice, hardly nutritionally complete. Thousands and thousands, especially Filipinos, died of starvation and malnutrition. Mr. Miner told me he survived in part by getting a guard to give him some uncooked rice. He dug a little area in the corner of his prison cage to catch rain water and sprouted the rice in the mud and then ate those sprouts to gain a few more calories and nutrition that others did not receive. He survived, barely.

    AT
     
  5. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Or save the shipping and stop off at the local hardware and buy it. I'd use stainless steel if it were me.
    I'm not too sure that insect screen would do too well, the mesh is pretty fine.
     
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  6. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    Thanks guy! W really was leaning to stainless steel but couldn't figure out what it's called ... is it stainless steel mesh or called something else.
     
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  7. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    No matter what the store calls it, it's a mesh of some size. This might help a bit.
    Understanding Mesh Sizes | Understanding Mesh Sizes
    Then again, it might not. There are some other sites that talk about bug screens.

    Common steel wire mesh won't last as long, it'll rust out. Galvanized will last longer, but might have a toxic component that I am unaware of. Nylon could be problematic if it isn't UV resistant and I don't know if it is or not, and if not kept under tension, the open spaces are apt to distort. Insect screen is apt to be too small for your sprouts. How big is a sprout? Dunno, but the bean sprouts I gobbled in southeast Asia were at least an eighth inch in diameter. Go with what you know, and I know nothing.
     
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  8. UncleMorgan

    UncleMorgan I like peeling bananas and (occasionally) people.

    Well, for starters, it is just a piece of stainless steel mesh. And $8.00 is indeed a very high price for one small piece.
    This same source sells a five-pack that is a little cheaper (per piece) but not a lot.

    They must be very rich by now...if people actually buy them.

    So...Here's a possibility:

    Skip the mason jars entirely. Instead find yourself a wide-mouth square plastic jar, something like this: Peanut jar.

    This is from Wal-Mart. The jar is free, but the 34.5 oz. of peanuts inside it cost $5.63. This is just an example. You can use any size and shape jar that's reasonably cheap & readily available.

    Tape a piece of aluminum window screen over the top of the jar lid, while it's on the (MT) jar.
    Then use a Dremel tool or similar with a small diameter drill bit and just start shooting holes in the lid, using the screen as a pattern. The drill bit should juuuuuust fit inside the mesh of the screen.

    A zillion holes later (which really won't take a lot of time because plastic drills fast), you'll have a straining lid for the jar, essentially free except for some drilling time.

    If you want a coarser mesh, drill (like!) every third hole on every third line, then take off the screen and come back with a bigger drill bit. Drill the holes out to the size you prefer.

    This kind of drilling, BTW, is something a kid might really consider fun.

    You can pattern-drill the sides and bottom of the jars as well for better drainage and ventilation, however much seems desirable. It's something that should be easy to experiment with.

    Or you can just cut the center out of the lid, and sandwich in a disc of nylon window screen. Whatever's easiest.

    Non-rusting plastic mason jar rings apparently cost about $4.00, so by the time you've cut & drilled a few jars, you've saved a small fortune.

    I'd avoid aluminum sprouting screens just like I avoid aluminum cookware. The metal is just not good to eat--even in minute quantities.

    Technical question--How many sprouting jars were you wanting to set up?
     
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  9. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    LOL

    I just steal my DW old nylons and cut a section to cover the Mason jar. When it gets funky, toss that scrap and use another.

    I believe you are overthinking this.....
     
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  10. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    I sprout 3-4 quarts a week.
     
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  11. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

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  12. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    thanks @Tikka just what I was looking for and If its too hard to cut I may go to screen wire as I can cut it with me scissors. I'm lazy like that =)

    @UncleMorgan that was a really great suggestion and if I was just doing eating sprouts that would be perfect but I am also sprouting wheat and fermenting the sprouts for a product called 'rejuvalac'
    Rejuvelac is a fermented drink made from sprouted wheat berries. The fermentation extracts most of the nutrients from the berries for a delicious, fresh tasting drink. The leftover berries don’t have much nutritional value but you can place them in compost to feed your garden.

    Ingredients:
    ½ cup wheat berries (I use organic hard red wheat)
    4 cups filtered water
    Instructions:
    1. Use a quart jar to sprout the wheat berries using this basic method until just the tail appears, approximately 2-3 days.​
    2. Place the sprouted wheat berries and the filtered water in a jar.​
    3. Leave in a warm place for 24-48 hours. The liquid should get a little fizzy and turn cloudy. The liquid should taste clean and fresh with a hint of citrus.​
    4. Pour off the liquid to save and place in the refrigerator. It will keep up to a week.​
    5. Reuse the berries for a second batch, if desired, but only for 24 hours.​

    I also sprout nuts and seeds to make seed cheese.
     
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  13. UncleMorgan

    UncleMorgan I like peeling bananas and (occasionally) people.

    Sounds like an interesting brew.
     
  14. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    its actually pretty tasty and easy and cheap way to get digestive enzymes in your system. It can have a bit of a zing if you ferment it too long. And you start out drinking shot glasses not half a glass =).... too many probiotics and enzymes too soon and you spend a lot of time on the bathroom.
     
  15. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    @Ganado
    As some of it is galvanized, be careful of using screen wire. I'd use a plastic type screen.

    A bit of a zing? :)
     
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  16. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    Last edited: Feb 3, 2019
  17. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    [​IMG]

    these are made from crafting plastic for needle point and they are dishwasher safe
     
  18. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Started sprouting a few days ago due to my research into the benefits of certain sprouts, broccoli in particular. So, I went to Amazon and bought some sprouting jars and seeds. I started with three teaspoons of seeds in each jar. Filled the jars 3/4 full with cold water and placed the jars upright in the pantry overnight, what a video I saw called Day Zero. Next morning Day 1, I poured the water out and triple rinsed the seeds. I repeated this rinse process again before bed. The rinse routine is repeated for five days. The jars, rack, screen lids and tray are part of a 4 jar set. Each with their own rack and tray.

    These are the sprouts Day 2

    Sprouts1.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2023
  19. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Here is a pic the end of Day 5 and after dumping both jars of sprouts into a stainless mixing bowl filled with cold water and removing as many of the hulls as would release with gentle agitation with my hands. On Day 5 the sprouts were placed in an East facing window to get some light and green up slightly.

    End of Day 5

    Sprouts2.
     
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