Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Put 1/2 Cup of seed* into a bowl or your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70°) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 2-12 hours.
Soy often prefers to Soak for a shorter time. It is best to check them after 2 hours to see if they have all softened. If they have, proceed as below,
if there are still hard seeds then let them keep soaking until they are all soft (up to 12 hours).
We have grown over a ton of Soy Sprouts in our day and we find that 4 hours is usually the right soak duration.
If you over-soak Soy they may fall apart (split in 1/2), and so will sprout poorly or even rot. You really must take an proactive approach when sprouting Soy.
Empty the seeds into your sprouter if necessary.
Drain off the soak water.
You can use it to water house plants or whatever - it has nutrients in it.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water
and 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. Until then light has little if any effect, so don't hide your sprouts. When leaves appear this will be plenty of light for them to green up!
When we're sprouting Mung Beans we may choose a darker corner, but 99% of the time we just don't avoid light.
Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, once more...
Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, perhaps once more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
And, if you insist - once again...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
We like our sprouts small. A root of 1/16 - 1/4 inch is all we want, so we stop when most of the sprouts have reached that size.
That can be as soon as 12 hours after their Soak, or after a few days. Soy Beans vary a lot. It is likely that not all of them will even sprout. As long as most of them do, we consider the crop a success.
Depending on your climate and the time of year you are sprouting and most importantly your personal preference -
You may Rinse and Drain again at 8-12 hour intervals for up to 6 days.
We Do Not recommend doing so, unless you're doing a science experiment.
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 super nutritious - and - they are now
without enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing indeed!) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you. But, as we say elsewhere on this page, we Sproutpeople do Not eat Soy Bean Sprouts raw because we find them difficult to digest.
Everyone is unique of course, so you'll need to decide for yourself if you want to eat them raw or not. You can steam a few of them lightly to try them if you decide raw doesn't work for you.
Harvest
Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final rinse.
Be sure 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 or the sealed container of your choice - glass is good too - and put them in your refrigerator - or eat/prepare them now.
We have Produce Storage Bags that will extend shelf life substantially.
* If using Sproutpeople's Single Harvest Pack use the whole bag in a 1 quart Sprouter.
Remember that the beans yield will be approximately 2:1, so in theory you can start with as much as 1/2 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity. We advise 1/4 - 1/3 so that you have some room to move while sprouting.
