3. Purchasing And Storing Seeds For Sprouting And Ready-To-Eat Sprouts

Alfalfa seeds, sunflower seeds, mung beans, soy beans and lentils are the most popularly used for sprouting. They can be purchased from Jaffe or your health food store. Instructions for sprouting a variety of seeds and legumes will be given in Lesson 26.

Sprouting seeds may be stored in moisture proof containers for a long time.

It is best to sprout your own, but ready-to-eat sprouts are available in health food stores, most supermarkets, and (more and more, of late) on salad bars in restaurants.

In buying ready-to-eat sprouts, the key is freshness. Check to be sure they are crisp, not wet and slimy(thus fit only for the garbage). Good, fresh alfalfa sprouts are often available in plastic containers. Sometimes mung bean sprouts, or mixed sprouts, are also available. The alfalfa sprouts usually have the desirable green leaves; the mung beans usually do not. The mixed sprouts are not as good as individual varieties; first of all, when you sprout alfalfa, lentils, radishes, watercress, wheat and sunflower seeds together, some of them will be sprouted for too long a period for their variety, and some not long enough. (See Sprouting Instructions, Lesson 26). The mixture is also a bad one from the standpoint of food combining, and the radish and watercress sprouts are too strong, with too much irritating bite.

If you sprout your seeds at home, they may be stored in covered containers in the refrigerator for about five days. If you buy your sprouts, be sure they are fresh and dry, and store them in your refrigerator, but don't count on their remaining in edible condition for longer than several days.