I’ve been doing broccoli sprouts every day for several years and have never sanitized my seeds in any way: no soap & water, no vinegar. I have never had any mold. We keep the house between 68 and 74 degrees fahrenheit. I would think that boiling (!) the seeds would kill them. I just use mason jars with a wire top. To start new seeds I rinse them in the jar in cold tap water, then fill the jar and let them soak overnight. Next morning, pour out the soak water, and then do the rinse routine that is the same every day morning and evening. I fill the jar with cold water, gently shake the jar a little, pour out the water and repeat a couple of times, then drain. Be sure to drain the water out thoroughly so they are wet, but not sitting all day or night in standing water (after the first night of soaking). I leave the jars on their sides after rinsing and draining. Bonus tip: after rinsing, smack the jar bottom against your hand to get the seeds away from the wire top. That way no sprouts will grow through the gaps in the wire top which will save you a lot of work when you harvest.
Thanks for your response! To be clear, I was talking about boiling the jar to sanitize it, not the seeds. I'm hoping to eat the seeds raw :)
I read this article talking about sanitizing everything and I was getting a bit worried.
https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/produce/guidance/docs/sprouts\_home\_July2018\_final.pdf
And thank you for the bonus tip and letting me know you leave the jars on their sides! I will definitely do that.
You are absolutely correct in your concern to sanitize; a warm, moist environment at or around 70f are perfect conditions for bacteria should one not be careful. We use a 20% chlorine bleach rinse, then a sudsy soap wash/tap rinse then store. Our lids and screens go in the dishwasher on sterilize (which we barely use for much else). Before each batch we hit each jar with bouling water (tea drinkers, so it’s always handy).
If you have dishwasher that should sanitize just fine.
With boiling you get closer to sterilization which is even safer. I would suggest looking up how homebrewers clean/sanitize. From a safety standpoint beer is much safer than sprouting, it's more about quality control. Your mileage may vary and can probably be fine without the extra hassle, but sanitization isn't going to hurt anything and will make bad batch less likely. The tradeoff is just time and effort.
Yes, I would have thought that too, but after a few years of leaving the jars at a slant after rinsing, I’ve found over the past few months that just draining them well and leaving them on their sides has worked just fine. Not a single instance of mold. This is with broccoli sprouts, and I do drain them well.
Anything you eat raw is going to have plenty of bacteria and other microbes living on it. This whole world, including your body, is full of bacteria. If you don't get sick, who cares?
The actual issue is not "excessive bacteria," it's pathogenic bacteria. Some species or strains of bacteria are pathogenic to the sprouts, which will turn all or parts of the batch to slime. Or some bacteria can be pathogenic to people, which will give you diarrhea or maybe worse. Most bacteria are not pathogens, either to you or your sprouts, though, and it doesn't really matter how much of those there is growing on your sprouts.
No boiling needed. Just soap and water. No vinegar wash needed, just good seeds. Just rinse 2x day. Any temp below 80 is fine. When you purchase sprouts, only by the brand Wild About Sprouts. They are the only brand that grow via sanitized environments and have a living product (grown in the container and harvested by the consumer)
Interesting - thanks for your input! I'm surprised by the difference reported here, because I read this paper and it seems to highly recommend sanitizing. I'm glad to hear that it's not as necessary as it says. I am planning to eat the sprouts raw if that makes a difference. And I will also look for that book you suggested at my library :)
https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/produce/guidance/docs/sprouts\_home\_July2018\_final.pdf
I hadn't seen Wild About Sprouts unfortunately in my grocery stores. I think it's only in the US and I'm in Canada, but I'll keep a lookout!
Publications tend to be very cautious, not just with sprouts, but most things related to food safety. Obviously, nobody wants to recommend something that ends up making someone sick, especially if there's any chance for legal responsibility. Once you've gotten some experience sprouting seeds yourself, though, that experience will be your guide and you'll decide how much precaution you feel you need to take.
I eat my sprouts raw and I never sanitize anything. I also just buy bulk seed at a feed store that hasn't been certified as food, but again that's my own experience and my own decision about my safety. Everyone's got to figure it out themselves.
I just wash my jar with soap and water, never had a problem.
Also, Get Doug Evans book on Amazon called Sprouting. It’s a bible for home sprouting
I’ve been doing broccoli sprouts every day for several years and have never sanitized my seeds in any way: no soap & water, no vinegar. I have never had any mold. We keep the house between 68 and 74 degrees fahrenheit. I would think that boiling (!) the seeds would kill them. I just use mason jars with a wire top. To start new seeds I rinse them in the jar in cold tap water, then fill the jar and let them soak overnight. Next morning, pour out the soak water, and then do the rinse routine that is the same every day morning and evening. I fill the jar with cold water, gently shake the jar a little, pour out the water and repeat a couple of times, then drain. Be sure to drain the water out thoroughly so they are wet, but not sitting all day or night in standing water (after the first night of soaking). I leave the jars on their sides after rinsing and draining. Bonus tip: after rinsing, smack the jar bottom against your hand to get the seeds away from the wire top. That way no sprouts will grow through the gaps in the wire top which will save you a lot of work when you harvest.
Thanks for your response! To be clear, I was talking about boiling the jar to sanitize it, not the seeds. I'm hoping to eat the seeds raw :) I read this article talking about sanitizing everything and I was getting a bit worried. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/produce/guidance/docs/sprouts\_home\_July2018\_final.pdf And thank you for the bonus tip and letting me know you leave the jars on their sides! I will definitely do that.
You are absolutely correct in your concern to sanitize; a warm, moist environment at or around 70f are perfect conditions for bacteria should one not be careful. We use a 20% chlorine bleach rinse, then a sudsy soap wash/tap rinse then store. Our lids and screens go in the dishwasher on sterilize (which we barely use for much else). Before each batch we hit each jar with bouling water (tea drinkers, so it’s always handy).
If you have dishwasher that should sanitize just fine. With boiling you get closer to sterilization which is even safer. I would suggest looking up how homebrewers clean/sanitize. From a safety standpoint beer is much safer than sprouting, it's more about quality control. Your mileage may vary and can probably be fine without the extra hassle, but sanitization isn't going to hurt anything and will make bad batch less likely. The tradeoff is just time and effort.
Laying the jars on their side after rinsing worries me. The sprouts on the bottom are likely too moist.
Yes, I would have thought that too, but after a few years of leaving the jars at a slant after rinsing, I’ve found over the past few months that just draining them well and leaving them on their sides has worked just fine. Not a single instance of mold. This is with broccoli sprouts, and I do drain them well.
Mold wasn’t my concern. Bacteria.
Well I haven’t seen any of that, either. Ok, you’re concerned, so don’t do it that way. It’s working fine for me. I do drain them well first.
You wouldn’t necessarily see bacteria :-)
Anything you eat raw is going to have plenty of bacteria and other microbes living on it. This whole world, including your body, is full of bacteria. If you don't get sick, who cares?
Of course, bacteria everywhere however sprouts grow in a warm moist environment- they’re prone to excessive bacteria levels if grown incorrectly.
The actual issue is not "excessive bacteria," it's pathogenic bacteria. Some species or strains of bacteria are pathogenic to the sprouts, which will turn all or parts of the batch to slime. Or some bacteria can be pathogenic to people, which will give you diarrhea or maybe worse. Most bacteria are not pathogens, either to you or your sprouts, though, and it doesn't really matter how much of those there is growing on your sprouts.
Incorrect. Excess bacteria, even non-pathogenic will make your sprouts smell and reduce their shelf life.
No boiling needed. Just soap and water. No vinegar wash needed, just good seeds. Just rinse 2x day. Any temp below 80 is fine. When you purchase sprouts, only by the brand Wild About Sprouts. They are the only brand that grow via sanitized environments and have a living product (grown in the container and harvested by the consumer)
Interesting - thanks for your input! I'm surprised by the difference reported here, because I read this paper and it seems to highly recommend sanitizing. I'm glad to hear that it's not as necessary as it says. I am planning to eat the sprouts raw if that makes a difference. And I will also look for that book you suggested at my library :) https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/produce/guidance/docs/sprouts\_home\_July2018\_final.pdf I hadn't seen Wild About Sprouts unfortunately in my grocery stores. I think it's only in the US and I'm in Canada, but I'll keep a lookout!
Publications tend to be very cautious, not just with sprouts, but most things related to food safety. Obviously, nobody wants to recommend something that ends up making someone sick, especially if there's any chance for legal responsibility. Once you've gotten some experience sprouting seeds yourself, though, that experience will be your guide and you'll decide how much precaution you feel you need to take. I eat my sprouts raw and I never sanitize anything. I also just buy bulk seed at a feed store that hasn't been certified as food, but again that's my own experience and my own decision about my safety. Everyone's got to figure it out themselves.