Have you ever sprouted black turtle beans? I tried this once before and it was a bad experience. Even though I soak my beans before cooking I have not tried to sprout the black beans since the time I made my son sick. :(
Sunday afternoon I placed my black beans in a pot of filtered water to soak for soup making. Well I did not get to them, so I stuck them in my sunroom..which is not heated and it stays pretty cold...so I knew they would be fine. Today (Tuesday) around four o'clock I remembered they were out there...opps!
what did I find....little sprouts...and they still smelled fine....rinse, drain, rinse, drain and ready for soup making!
As you can see I did not follow the directions below.
Although they should be cooked, even when sprouted,
Black Beans are a nutritious addition to many recipes.
Seed to Sprout in 2-4 Days
Yield = 2:1
eed Shelf Life at 70° = 5 years
Sprout Shelf Life = 2-4 weeks
Nutritional info:
Vitamins A, B, C and E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium, Amino Acids
Protein: 20-25%
Sprouting Instructions
Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Put 1/2 Cup of seed* into a bowl or your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70°) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 8-12 hours.
Empty the seeds into your sprouter if necessary.
Drain off the soak water.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water.
Drain thoroughly.
Set anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, once more...
Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, perhaps once more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
And, possibly even once more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
We usually stop here. We like our sprouts small.
Depending on your climate and the time of year you are sprouting and most importantly your personal preference - You may Rinse and Drain again at 8-12 hour intervals for up to 6 days. However - we prefer to sprout only to the point where most of the seeds have sprouted tiny (1/4 inch) roots, which is typically after just 3-5 Rinse and Drain cycles.
Note: Black Beans are rarely prolific sprouters. They are intended as soup beans by farmers and seed brokers, and though we look for the best sprouters, always testing several lots every crop year, we are willing to accept as low a germination rate as 50% when it comes to Black Beans (and Pintos). As long as they have no hard seed they will cook just fine.
So, do not grow beyond the point where the beans that are sprouted have 1/4 - 1/2 inch tails - those that are not sprouted will either never sprout or will take too long.
If you keep growing you will over-grow the sprouted beans which will be an unpleasant experience. Trust us, we know.
Harvest
Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final rinse. Be sure to Drain them as thoroughly as possible after that final rinse.
The goal during the final 8-12 hours is to minimize the surface moisture of your sprouts - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.
Refrigerate
Transfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice - glass is good too - and put them in your refrigerator.
* If using Single Harvest Pack use the whole bagRemember that the yield will be approximately 2:1, so in theory you can start with as much as 1/2 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity (though we advise 1/3 so that you have some room to move).
Printable Sprouting Instructions
Here is another great article about sprouting at
Living and Raw Foods
Here is a video on
Why and How to sprout nuts and seeds.
Read this article at
Juicing Book.com for the why we sprout Beans and charts
at Amazon.
