Is It Safe to Eat Home-Grown Sprouts?

How long do you have to heat (boil/fry) home-grown sprouts (seedlings) to kill dangerous germs and bacteria so that adults and children can safely consume them? Are vitamins and minerals retained after heating or are most destroyed?

Sprouts can be eaten raw or heated.

When the sprouts are heated, some of the heat-sensitive vitamins are lost, especially vitamin C and B vitamins.

Sprouts are one of the foods that are susceptible to germs. However, if you heed a few hygiene tips that apply to handling sensitive foods, you can still enjoy the vitamin- and nutrient-rich raw sprouts.

But if you want to be on the safe side, you can blanch the sprouts in twice the amount of boiling water for half a minute before eating. However, they must then be used immediately because they spoil faster than raw sprouts.

Only sprouts of soybeans and other beans should always be heated because of the toxins they naturally contain. However, eating garden bean sprouts is generally discouraged.

Older people, small children, pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system should avoid raw sprouts to be on the safe side.

Points to consider when making your own sprouts:

• Do not put too many seeds in the container so that there is still enough air when growing.
• Let the backwater drain out of the container and then cover it with a cloth so that there is still enough air exchange.
• Rinse them 2-3 times a day with fresh water, preferably in a clean sieve.
• Do not place the container too warm (maximum room temperature 18-22°C) and do not expose it to sunlight.
• Wash hands thoroughly before handling sprouts.
• Do not prepare sprouts near other foods (especially meat and fish).
• Avoid contact with sinks and used towels.
• Clean utensils and surfaces after use.
• Do not use the sprout water for other foods (only for plants).
• Store fresh sprouts at approx. 4 °C to 6 °C in the refrigerator and consume them soon.
• Wash the sprouts thoroughly before eating.
• Discard moldy sprouts.

Purchased sprouts have a use-by date, i.e. they should be eaten by this date – in contrast to the best-before date.

Green sprouts, also called microgreens, are less susceptible to germs. For this, the seeds are placed on soil/kitchen paper or cotton wool and kept moist on the window sill without a cover. They are ready to eat when green leaves have formed and can then be cut off.

Use your senses! In most cases, you can judge whether a food is still edible by its appearance, smell and taste.