DEAR SPROUTMAN: We are wondering if you can recommend sprouts for juicing. We are interested in broccoli, but wonder about red clover. As friends of Matt Monarch, we saw his show where he was juicing broccoli sprouts and wondered what some other options might be. Thank you for any ideas. – Mary & Michael
DEAR MARY & MICHAEL: Yes, broccoli sprouts are great for juicing. They have a stronger taste than most other sprouts and if you are looking for something a little more mild I recommend alfalfa or clover, both are delicious.
thanks to your staff and you for the reply. you mention sprouting baskets in your book,
but i do not see them on your site. where can they be purchased? thank you, mary
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Mary,
Baskets are beautiful. I miss sprouting in baskets. They were simple and sublime. I first invented the basket sprouter back in 1977, and I sprouted in them for over 20 years. I used to order 24, 000 baskets at a time and they were custom made to my specifications. However, in 1996, I discontinued ordering baskets because their manufacture in China had become fraught with insurmountable problems.
Don’t forget, these are hand crafted items. They are made one at a time and as such, there were numerous “quality control” issues. We were forced to examine every shipment, basket by basket (that’s 24,000 checkouts!). We discovered (at great expense) that 3-4 out of every 10 baskets had too many large spaces between the weaves and too many sprouting seeds would fall through the cracks. Customers complained all the time and no matter how many times we tried, we could not get the consistency we needed. If that was not bad enough, the quality of manufacture had also deteriorated on the side walls. Many baskets unraveled after just a few uses. Then there was the issue of fumigants. All shipments were gassed with at least ethylene gas and it became too difficult to circumvent this practice. After many years of frustration, and after losses of tens of thousands of dollars, it became economically unfeasible for us to continue importing baskets for sprouting. In its place, I designed a plastic basket, but by then, the company had too many financial problems, and I could not continue importing them.
If you still want to use baskets for sprouting, you can. You can find them at most Asian food and Oriental supply stores. Or look in oriental furniture and gift stores. Try to obtain baskets that are free of shellac since this is, after all, a food product. Look for bamboo with a bread basket style weave.
If you have trouble finding baskets and want to try something new, may I suggest two alternatives…?
Take a look at my “new automatic sprouter” featured on our web site at
http://www.education.sproutmanbbe.wpengine.com/freshlife.html It is the best sprouter in the world (sold in 13 countries)! It grows every vegetable sprout including wheatgrass, and saves you a lot of time and effort. If you decide to buy one of them, I would like to extend a discount coupon to you, just because you are a basket lover. Take 10% off the regular price ($99.95 plus $10 shipping). Just give us a call at 800-777-6881 and say you read this e-letter and you have a Basket e-coupon for $10 and an extra $5 off if you get an extra growing barrel (which doubles your capacity).
Another great sprouter is my “Hemp Sprouting Bag.” These bags are the best way to grow all “bean” and “grain” sprouts. They last for years and are very affordable at only $10.95 each. If you buy 3 bags, I can offer them to you $28.95, that’s a $4 savings. For more pictures and information visit: http://www.education.sproutmanbbe.wpengine.com/sproutbag.html
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