.....a container. There is a very popular home bean sprouter called "Easy Sprout" available at many health food stores and online. It usually sells for $13 to $20. It consists of two nested plastic containers and a couple of lids. The Easy Sprout is a widely considered to be a great all purpose sprouter.
There are three basic steps to sprouting beans: soaking, rinsing, and draining. Its best to rinse your dry beans well before soaking. While rinsing, keep a good eye on your beans and pick out any non-bean materials. Sometimes packaged beans can contain rocks or small debris and its best to remove it before you soak your beans. After your beans have bean well rinsed its time to soak them for a while. Cover them with water and make there is at least twice as much water as beans. You can't use too much water but you can use too little. Its important that every bean absorbs the maximum amount of water, so besure and stir your beans while they soak. If you are using the easy sprout, just lift out the inner cup full of beans and repeatedly dunk it back in the water. Most beans need to soak for 8-12 hours but some take less time. When your beans are done soaking it is time to rinse them with fresh cool water. Thorough rinsing and draining are essential for producing the best tasting bean sprouts. Rinse and drain your sprouting beans 2 to 3 times daily and care should be taken to thoroughly rinse and drain them every time. Your sprouts should be kept in an area that gets plenty of fresh air while sprouting. Don't expose the sprouts to sunlight, but indoor lighting is fine. When you see the small husks start to seperate from the seeds, they are almost ready. Within a couple more days the sprouts should be turning green. At this point your sprouts are ready to eat! Eat them fresh or store them in the refrigerator for later. Kathleen and I use an easy sprout and sprout beans regularly. If you have any questions or comments about sprouting or anything else related to yardsteading, you are welcome as always to post in the forum.
