Growing sprouts is a good job for a 7-year-old. Or older. Sometimes younger with help. This is my daily job in the family, but sometimes Daddy washes them for me when I forget.
To start growing sprouts, you need a jar. There are special kinds of jars. Some are meant for sprouts and have a lid with holes to drain the water. We have those. Another way to do it is by taking a regular jar and covering it with a screen-type material and securing it with a rubber band. My nonna uses that. The size of the jar doesn’t really matter, but you can use less seeds in a smaller jar.
I have grown alfalfa seeds, broccoli seeds, and an Italian mix of seeds. Alfalfa is my favorite because it tastes better.
To start, you can choose to put one tablespoon of seeds in a 16 oz. jar. We put two tablespoons in our 32 oz. jar. Sometimes we put three tablespoons in the jar. I fill a little less than half the jar with water and leave it overnight or all day. The soak starts them growing. Then, you can fill the water right above them when the regular process of rinsing starts.
You can rinse them twice a day, but three times is better. I rinse them after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I fill the jar to cover the sprouts with water, make a swishing motion in circles, drain them and repeat.
Keep them turned over to drain. We keep our jar in an antique pan that we don’t care about so much because the sprouts discolor the water and that stains the dishes.
Some people say you have to put the sprouts outside when they are fully grown to turn green, but we grow ours on the counter, and as you can see, they turn green without much exposure to sunshine.
When they are done, refrigerate them because people say they can become moldy if left out.
Our family likes them on sandwiches, salads, and soup.
