This article applies to mung bean and lentil sprouts, though the basic techniques could be adapted to other seeds.

Nutritious, easy to digest, bean sprouts also contain abundant life energy. A simple way to eat raw and get sufficient protein. I often make a meal of sprout and grated carrot salad with popcorn or brown rice.

Mung beans, small, green, and almost perfectly round, sometimes don’t sprout well; probably too old. I usually get good ones at Chinese or Indian shops. Chinese sometimes call them “green soy beans.”

All you need are some glass jars with lids, which you can save from foods you buy. The size depends on how much you need per day. For example, I’m using 500 gram (about a pound) honey jars, for one person. But any sort of container will do. I’ve even used, while travelling, disposable plastic cups.

Pour 1/2 to 3/4 inch (12-18 mm) of beans into the jar, fill halfway with cold water and leave to soak overnight.

The next day, drain out the water, fill again, shake and drain. I just put one hand over the mouth of the jar and let the water drain out between my fingers. Hold a moment to let more water drain out. Cover loosely with the lid and set somewhere to grow. Never screw the lid down – sprouts need air! They don’t need light so you could put it in a dark cupboard but light does not hurt them.

The soaking gives the beans all the water they need to complete the growth, but I sometimes rinse them again the next day. You need some sensitivity – these are growing organisms. Temperature and humidity affect their growth. They taste sweeter with less water so better not to rinse too much.

On each succeeding day, holding the lid, shake the jar well. If any sprouts are sticking to the bottom of the jar, whack it with your palm to loosen them. Lift the lid for a moment to let fresh air in.

With about 5 minutes a day, you can have a daily supply. Shake up the growing jars, drain the jar from the day before, and start a new one soaking.

The growth rate varies tremendously with temperature, from 3 to 7 days for edible sprouts, 50 to 90 degrees F (10 to 32 Celsius.) So in cool weather you may need as many as 7 growing jars. (Unless you follow the unhealthy practice of keeping your whole house “room temperature” all the time!) Once you establish the system, you will still have one ready to eat each day.

Sometimes a jar will go bad, probably from bacterial growth. Don’t eat if they smell funny; throw them out. They taste best when the root is fairly long but not divided yet. Later you can still eat them but if the roots turn brown they are dead and no good.

You can grow grain sprouts, such as wheat, with the same method, but have to rinse more often as grains tend to ferment. (Unless you want to make beer!)

30 June 2021 Update:

In hot weather some of the sprout jars went bad with bacterial growth (rot) at the bottoms of the jars, so I have switched partly to this method: cut a piece of mesh material (like for a mosquito net), put over the top of the jar and hold in place with a rubber band, then turn the jar over and prop at an angle so air can flow. Begin this on the third day, after soaking, draining, and letting stand overnight.