Bean sprouts...

At last we've found some fresh beansprouts in the shops... this is quite important for me as I am an impulse cook.
Sprouting your own beans is a think ahead, time consuming problem.... although easy to do with the right equipment.

These are Germes de Haricots Mungo... AB certified.... they must have had a supply of *Bio-water!

The shop bought Mung Beans

Mung beans unwrapped

It says on the packet that they are commonly called Germes de soja... very strange as soya beans are  much larger and rounder....and pale brown... than Mung beans.

Mung beans [with a Euro and five Soya beans for comparison.]

The mung beans shown above are now about five years old.... and therefore will possibly have a poor germination rate...
but I spotted a sprouter for 4€ in Gamm Vert recently.... I am tempted as all sorts of seeds can be sprouted and are good in salads.... and are... allegedly... good for you.

If you don't want to go to the expense of a 'sprouter', an old fashioned **sweet jar, an elastic band, a bin bag and a bit of muslin will do.
Start this in the evening...
Put a good English handful of Mung Beans into the 'sprouter' and put in enough water to cover them, plus half as much again.
Put muslin in place on the top and hold it there with the 'laccy' band. That's the real fun bit... you usually need three hands... or a willing helper.
Put jar into bin bag and fold the top of the bag over.
Place in a warm place overnight... over the back of the fridge is a good place if it isn't built in... the heat rising from the works is excellent for this [good for homemade wine, too.]
Next morning, drain the beans through the muslin, then rinse the beans well [a couple of times].... and then drain [but not thoroughly] and return them to the warm place. If using the back of the fridge process, move the jar forward from the vents from now on... so that it gets the warmth... but not too much.
In the evening, repeat the process.
Next morning, repeat the process.
In the evening, repeat the process.
Next morning, repeat the process. The beans should be sprouting by the previous evening... or at this point.
Carry on for another day, or perhaps two, until you have nice fat sprouts of a good length... the amount of water left by rinsing and a non-thorough draining should be adequate for good sprouts.
ON NO ACCOUNT LEAVE THEM IN STANDING WATER... they can go bad very quickly!
The best way to remove the sprouts is to rinse them out into a sieve... this gives them a good final rinse and gets the last ones out of the jar without hassle!

** Since starting this entry, I have invested in one of the sprouters from Gamm Vert... it works very well...
so we had bean sprouts twice in quick succession!
If you do decide to buy one of these, just a tip... keep it in a dark place [as with the bin-bag for the other method] not as the instructions say... on the window sill!
The sprouts began to green up! But there was almost 100% success from what I now think is about twelve year old mung bean seed!!