Almond Sprouts are often called "Soaks" because they swell rather than sprout, producing only a tiny bulge at their germ instead of a root (sprout).
Absolute heaven to munch, though rather expensive, Almonds are THE most addictive of all sprouts - er, Soaks, so enjoy with caution.

Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts

Seed Prep
Measure out 2/3 Cup of seed*
Pick out anything you don't think should be there (shell or plant pieces, imperfect seeds if you wish, etc.).
Rinse your seeds to remove dust or debris.

Soak
Transfer your seeds into your Sprouter, or a bowl.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 4-12 hours.

Sprouting
Empty the seeds into your Sprouter (if necessary).
Drain off the soak water.
You can use it - it has nutrients in it.

Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water.
Drain thoroughly.

Set your Sprouter anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
This is where your sprouts do their growing. We use a counter top - in the corner of our kitchen, but where the sprouter won't get knocked over by cats, dogs, kids or us.
We don't mind the indirect sunlight or the 150 watts of incandescent light, because light just does not matter much.
A plant can only perform photosynthesis when it has leaves, and these Almonds are definitely not going to have leaves. Until a plant has leaves, light has little if any effect. Sprouts also happen to like air-circulation, so don't hide your sprouts.

Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, perhaps one more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.

We stop here. There is no real point in sprouting further.
Almond sprouts are not intended to germinate fully. At most their germ is meant to bulge - but don't try to grow a root. That is why they are called Soaks.

As always, we suggest that you taste your crop at Every Rinse - including the very first - just after the Soak period. The soaked seeds are already alive and are now super-nutritious - and - they now have no enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing indeed) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you.

Harvest
Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final Rinse.
Be sure - if you plan on storing your crop - to Drain them as thoroughly as possible after that final Rinse.
The goal during the final 8-12 hours is to minimize the surface moisture of your sprouts - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.

Refrigerate
Transfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag, our shelf life extending Produce Storage Bags, or the sealed container of your choice (glass is good too). Whatever you choose - p ut them in your refrigerator - if you can keep from eating them all first.

*Seed to Use
If using Sproutpeople's Single Harvest Pack - use the whole bag.

Almonds will yield approximately 1.5:1 (you get 1.5 pounds for every pound of dry almonds), so in theory you can start with up to as 2/3 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity.
We generally advise maxing out at 1/2 capacity, until you get used to growing a particular crop.

Crop Notes

If there is anything unique about our current crop, we will tell you about it here.

Almonds Then & Now:

In 2005 and 2006, Almond harvests in California were much smaller than expected, yielding only 1/3 the expected number of nuts.
The lack of supply drove up prices horribly - they doubled.
Though crops have been much better in subsequent years, the price has not gone back down.

The Status of Raw Almonds:

A lot of you have asked about the future of almonds. It is true that our government very quietly (and without public notification or call for comment) passed a law to pasteurize all almonds.
Pasteurization is usually accomplished with heat. As with all pasteurization the goal is to kill harmful (pathogenic) bacteria. Of course, as we raw food lovers know - it also kills beneficial bacteria. We want no part of it!
Without going into details as to why this law was passed, I will say, as I have for many years, that we should be able to choose what we eat. The government has no call to mandate this choice for us!
As it stands today, the only legal way one can get truly raw Almonds is to grow your own, or get them directly from a farmer. This is not an option for most people as the vast majority of the world'a almond crop comes from California and Spain.
We have to fight to make raw almonds readily available again, so write your elected officials and the USDA to demand that organic almonds not be pasteurized.
Visit our friends at The Cornucopia Institute for further information.

Growing Longer

If you are doing a science experiment - or growing an almond tree seedling, keep Rinsing and Draining every 8-12 hours for as long as you like, but don't expect to eat your crop.
Actually - if you want to grow a tree, you should start with an almond that is still in its shell.

Seed Storage

Almonds are best stored in a cool location - we keep ours in a freezer, but a refrigerator works well too. If you plan on storing Almonds for more than 3 months you should use one of these cool locations. If you leave them at 70° they will likely last for a year or 2, but they may not. When almonds go bad, they get rancid, so you will likely smell it if that happens to your almonds. Consider yourself warned =:-}

Raw
Chocolate Almond Torte
Spicy San Francisco Snack
Herbed Bean Sprout Snack
Sprout Cereal
Sprouts and Salads

Cooked
Awesome Potato Salad

Coming Soon
Almond Milk
Halvah