
With the term "sprouts" we mean to refer to the sprouted seeds of cereals, legumes and other plant species of which everything is used: grain and sprout.
The Sprouts are an example of Nature's extraordinary ability to produce energy, a capacity that can be exploited by every consumer to get fresh food at low cost, rich in nutrients such as vitamins, enzymes and trace elements, and easy to digest.
Since ancient times many peoples have used the germinated grains and the developed shoots as a regenerative and therapeutic food and have handed down their use. Already in the "Pen Tsao" or "Great Herbarium of Chinese Medicine", around 2700 years BC, the raw soy sprout was recommended for edema, knee pains, cramps, digestive disorders, "weak" lungs, spots on the skin and diseases of the scalp.
It also appears that Attila's fiery horses and fast Arabian horses were fed with sprouted wheat seeds before important occasions. In the 800s and 900s, it is above all the stories of the missionaries who inform us about the use of sprouts among the peoples of China and India.
Today this food has also been "discovered" by us Westerners precisely because of its great nutritional richness: very easy to prepare, cheap, with tasty and varied flavors, the sprouts are a real mine of nutritional principles which, especially in this overabundant age of food refined, sterilized, full of all kinds of additives, they are a factor of prevention and defense of the vital processes of the organism. If we consider that the maintenance and strengthening of the natural defenses of the organism, and therefore the defense and improvement of health, require first of all a balanced diet rich in fresh and genuine vegetables, we understand well what importance has the consumption of seed sprouts of various types, such as cereals and legumes, naturally coming from organic cultivation.
The seeds of cereals or legumes in the raw state are inedible and indigestible; therefore they must be cooked to make them edible and similar: in fact, heat transforms starches into simpler carbohydrates, proteins into more soluble fragments, and so it is possible to use them for our diet. With heat, however, the "life" that is present in the latent state in the seed disappears: in fact, a seed after cooking is no longer able to germinate. Instead the germination allows to eat raw those same seeds, providing rich, vital and nutritious foods, in which the "potential" energy contained in the seed is freed and transformed into energy assimilable by the organism. The sprout in fact constitutes a fresh food, which lends itself to being eaten raw, very rich in nutrients such as vitamins, enzymes, trace elements, essential amino acids; it is easy to digest, it is devoid of waste because it is used in its entirety, it is tasty, it is easy to prepare and store.
Once prepared for sprouting, the whole process takes place without us having to intervene: there is no work to be done, only time works. In fact, immediately after the seed has been soaked the "germination" begins, that is the activation and revitalization of the seed of the seed, called embryo, which represents the young seedling and contains in "nuce" all the essential parts of the future plant (fustentine, leaflets, rootlets). During this phase, when the bud is still very small and is enclosed within the integument, and therefore not yet visible, profound changes occur in the structure of the grain and in its biochemical composition. As the grain absorbs water the seed swells and the shell splits and the small shoot begins to grow and become visible on the outside like a small seedling in which, as a result of complex enzymatic reactions, the reserve substances (starches) of the seed, contained in the nourishing tissue inside the cotyledons, are transformed and mobilized, then absorbed by the embryo, which gradually becomes larger, becoming a "germinative plant", the Sprout, which if planted growing would give rise to a new seedling, identical to the mother plant.
It is during the transformation of the reserve substances that the numerous and complex biochemical transformations take place, not yet fully clarified, which give the shoot its richness of substances: it becomes a veritable treasure trove of nutritive principles, which are more easy digestion and assimilation by the body; and this is why the sprouted cereals and legumes are much more digestible - even raw - of the seeds of origin, so they are also recommended for those suffering from a bad gastrointestinal form. The reserve substances contained in the grain consist largely of starch and hemicellulose, which are complex carbohydrates: they are mostly transformed into dextrins and maltose, simpler and more sweet substances, which give the bud its characteristic and delicate flavor slightly sweet.
Also the protein part of the grain undergoes a transformation, in fact the proteins are "predigested" by the enzymes breaking down into amino acids, of easier and faster digestion and assimilation, and also the shoots undergo an increase in essential amino acids, as well as increase the nucleic acids, mineral salts and trace elements, which also come to be in organic form and therefore more easily assimilable and usable by the body, in particular iron, which in inorganic form is difficult to assimilate and can give rise to gastrointestinal disorders. Vitamins even undergo considerable increases, from 50% to 100%, and in some cases even much more, such as vitamin A, which can increase after 72 hours of germination, even up to 370%. In particular the sprouts are rich in vitamin B12, which can be useful, together with the richness in iron, to avoid deficiencies if a vegetarian diet is followed.
To give an idea of the "wisdom" of Nature, let's take just one small example: a medium cup of chickpeas provides, roughly speaking, the same amount of protein as a steak, plus a good amount of mineral salts and vitamins; they are however deficient in vitamins B12 and C but ... after germination we find that these two vitamins have increased considerably! This phenomenon should not surprise us, in fact it is quite logical that in the "revitalization" of the grain, which is germination, typical characteristics of fresh vegetables emerge, such as the presence of vitamin C.
You can learn more about the properties and benefits of pumpkin sprouts
The preparation
From the above it is clear the importance of allocating a portion of one's diet to the consumption of various types of sprouts. So let's see which seeds we can sprout and how to prepare them to get the sprouts. Almost all the seeds can be germinated, there is only the embarrassment of the choice, but the most indicated and tested are the wheat (or wheat), the green soy, the millet, the chickpeas, the beans, the lentils, the wholegrain rice, oats, sunflower, and any other edible seed your imagination suggests. Solanaceae seeds should be avoided (eg potato, tomato) because they contain toxic substances. It is preferable to use seeds of organic cultivation, ie those obtained without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and other poisons, for obvious reasons.
The simplest method to obtain the sprouts, if you do not have a suitable sprout, is to place the seeds well washed and rinsed in a deep dish with water, so that they remain immersed; then cover them with a damp napkin and leave them to soak for six to twelve hours, depending on the size of the seeds. In the morning the seeds should be rinsed again and placed again on the bottom
of the dish, so moist as they are, but without adding more water; they must be covered again with a damp napkin and again with an inverted plate, and left to sprout.
The seeds so predisposed should be rinsed twice a day for the first 2-3 days, then only once, except for chickpeas and soybeans, which should always be rinsed twice, then always covered in the usual way. The procedure is repeated for 3-5 days, depending on the seeds chosen, until the shoots have reached a length of 3-4 centimeters, after which they can be discovered to expose them for some time to the light, to ensure that they are enriched with precious chlorophyll (about 7-8 hours in indirect light, less if in the sun, to prevent them from drying out).
Germination times can vary with temperature, as well as depending on the type of seed chosen. Use a quantity of seeds that is not too high, because it has an excellent yield and also to always have a fresh and vital product.
The same operation can also be carried out with a glass jar covered with gauze, which must initially be stored in the dark, or with a colander on whose bottom a napkin has been placed and covered with another. Once obtained, the shoots must be rinsed gently in a colander, eliminating any loose skins and sprouted seeds; they are left to drain for a few minutes and can be placed in a glass container with a lid (not in a plastic bag!) and, if they are not all consumed, they can be put in the fridge where they can be left up to 6-7 days, however, rinsing them every two days.
How to use them
Once ready, the sprouts can be eaten as they are, raw or after a short cooking time (which however tends to alter their vitamin richness). They are consumed alone, in salads dressed with a little oil and salt, or combined with vegetables or fruit, also in the preparation of smoothies and purees, or chopped and combined with homemade mayonnaise, mashed or sauces of various types, or still joined to yogurt, added to vegetable soups or stews, a few minutes before serving them at the table, added to the filling of tortellini, to the mixture of meatballs, as a condiment for pasta and rice, etc.
As you can see, there are many possible uses, and they are limited only by imagination.