Photos of Lentil Sprouting

Here is a little photo show of sprouting lentils

Day one: I have a little more than 1 cup of dried lentils here
and filled the jar to soak overnight. You should start with 1/2 cup.
A much more reasonable amount. They really expand.

DAY TWO, A.M.:

I have not done anything here except let them soak overnight.
You can see that they have nearly doubled in size.
Now I will pour out the soaking water, re-rinse, and drain.

Next comes the MOST IMPORTANT PART of sprouting;  PROPER DRAINING!

 Notice that the jar is NOT completely upside down, but on a slant,
making sure that there is air room at the cheesecloth covered opening.
They need air to keep from getting soggy or moldy. Ruination.

Each time you rinse the sprouts - only twice a day is o.k. with lentils -
finish by leaving them at this angle to drain, and you will have good sprouts.

DAY THREE:
This next photo is the morning of day three, so really
only a day and a half after first putting them in the jar to soak.
It is difficult to see them in this photo,
(I'm not very good with my new camera yet)
but they have broken dormancy and the little sprout is just showing.

They are just barely sprouted but you can begin eating them now,
especially quickly blanched, which does, yes you are right, destroy
the enzymes, but sprouting has made them much more digestible.
However, for raw sprouts I like to wait until they are a little longer.
Watch out, though. At this point they grow really quickly.

(I have taken half of the sprouts out of the jar because I am not home and didn't have a large jar with me.)

Don't forget to rinse and drain a couple of times today.

DAY FOUR: Sprouts are really ready to eat. By this time they have become about four times
larger in volume than they started out.  (Remember I have taken half out of the jar).You can begin to eat them out of the jar, tossing them into salads or soups or whatever, and they will keep growing for another couple of days and still be prime. I throw them into every salad, and on top of cooked vegetables, everywhere.The jar will keep filling as they keep growing.
Keep occasionally rinsing and draining them.

 

NOW, you can put them into the refrigerator, cheesecloth and all,
where they will keep very well for many days so long as they are open to the air.
This is why you place them in the fridge with either the cheesecloth or a
sprouting jar lid if you have one. Every two or three days,
take them out and give them a fresh rinse and drain.

You can keep sprouting until they begin to show tiny leaf development.
Then stop the sprouting by refrigerating.

Hope this helps.

Once you get in the habit of occasionally throwing some seeds
into a jar and covering them with water overnight, the rest is easy.
And so is the part about thowing them into a jar with water overnight.

Good sprouting!