Sprouting into 2025

Anyone else notice how alfalfa spouts used to be everywhere, but have nearly disappeared in recent years? You can still find them in health food stores at a premium, but I miss the old availability, and the prices.

 

Why did stores stop selling alfalfa sprouts?

Grocery stores became less willing to carry alfalfa sprouts due to multiple recalls. After issues with E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella, many markets considered sprouts a liability. I know this isn't a delicious way to open a story, but I've been curious about this disappearance for a while. There must be others out there. Nothing beats alfalfa sprouts and garlicky hummus on wheat, maybe with a slice of havarti. 

Sprouts prefer to grow in dark and damp environments, which can be all too welcoming to bacteria. I wanted to take matters into my own hands, and asked for sprouting jars this Christmas. And now I am in total control of the cleanliness and freshness of my own homegrown alfalfa sprouts - they have never been tastier.

People that missed sprouts used to put seeds on wet paper towels, and stuff them into a water bottle. But sprouting jars are cleaner and have better drainage. Besides, it's always preferable to use glass over plastics when preparing food.

This will come as a surprise to no one that I mostly use my homegrown alfalfa sprouts for spring rolls, since, as my family likes to say, I try to turn everything into spring rolls. In this case, I rolled alfalfa sprouts in with jalapenos, lettuce, scallions, basil, cilantro, and steamed shrimp. It was herbal and refreshing!

Ways to enjoy alfalfa sprouts

• On a bagel with cream cheese
• In a spring roll
• On wheat with hummus (even better with a slice of havarti and when hummus is garlicky) 
• Atop a salad (it really compliments toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
• In a deli sandwich
• A topping in a grain bowl or poke bowl

How to sprout alfalfas at home

You will need :

• Alfalfa seeds
• A glass jar with a metal strainer attached at the opening
• An apparatus that holds the sprouting jar at a tilt
• A tray to contain the water drainage from the glass jar

How to sprout the seeds:

• Put a tablespoon of alfalfa seeds in filtered water
• Soak the seeds for 6-8 hours
• After 6-8 hours, drain in the sink, then place on the tilting apparatus in the tray, allowing the remaining water to drip out.
• Be sure to keep the drip tray out of direct sunlight and out of the refrigerator - they must sprout at room temperature and remain damp.
• Twice daily, wash the seeds in the jar, drain into the sink, then place it back into the tray to drip. Keep the strainer on the jar to contain the sprouts when draining. 
• In 3-5 days, you should have fully grown sprouts.
• Refrigerate after they are grown.
  

The health benefits of alfalfa sprouts

Many people make health resolutions in the new year, so if anyone is looking for smarter food choices, the benefits of alfalfa sprouts are myriad. They include:

• Vitamins A, B1, 2 and 6, C, E and K
• Calcium
• Iron
• Protein
• Magnesium
• Several healthy plant compounds, such as saponins, which have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties

But that's not why I eat sprouts. It's a great benefit, but I love the clean, earthy taste. While I eat it, it's almost as if signals are firing to my brain telling me something really wholesome is happening. 

Do you have a special way you like to enjoy sprouts? We'd love to hear about it!