Growing Broccoli Sprouts

Have you ever purchased broccoli sprouts from the grocery store? They're often expensive, and to me they never taste quite as fresh as homegrown sprouts. Still, I wanted to eat them regularly because of one remarkable compound they contain—sulforaphane.

If you've never heard of sulforaphane, take a few minutes to search for it. After learning about its potential health benefits, you just might find yourself sprouting broccoli seeds too!

So, I decided it was time to learn.

Like many people, my first stop was YouTube. I quickly discovered there wasn't just one way to grow sprouts. After watching several videos, I ordered a set of stainless-steel stackable sprouting trays. They were advertised as dishwasher safe, and that sounded perfect to me. Who has time to hand wash everything? I also purchased The Sprout Book by Doug Evans and officially began my sprouting journey.

I soaked the broccoli seeds overnight. The next morning I rinsed them and spread them evenly across the mesh trays. Every morning and evening I rinsed them again.

Then I waited.

Within a couple of days tiny roots appeared, followed by little green leaves.

Success!

Harvest day, however, wasn't quite as exciting.

The roots had grown through the mesh screens, making the sprouts difficult to remove. I ended up using a very sharp knife to cut the roots away from the bottom of each tray so I could harvest them. The sprouts tasted wonderful—but cleaning the trays afterward was another story. Before they could even go into the dishwasher, I had to spend time pulling roots out of the mesh.

Then I remembered seeing another method online.

Back to Amazon I went.

This time I ordered two sprouting jars.

For me, the jars were a game changer.

Rinsing and draining the seeds became much easier, and when the sprouts were ready, I simply placed the entire jar in the refrigerator. No wrestling sprouts out of trays. No cutting roots. I just enjoyed fresh sprouts directly from the jar. When the jar was empty, I put it in the dishwasher.

Simple.

I've included a photo so you can see both sprouting methods. Let me know how you grow sprouts.

Happy sprouting!