Freezing sprouts?

Hi all,

I looked for some info on the title and I hope i'm not repeating an already posted thread! I'm now in the last 2 months of my pregnancy. Like my first one (I went to India then so got fresh sprouts in Bangalore markets everyday) this time too I want to add sprouts to my diet. I want to ask:

1. Is it okay to freeze sprouts?
2. If yes how to freeze them?
3. If no how long can I keep them in normal refrigerator?

Thanks!
Latha

hi,
am not an expert in freezing, but store bought sprouts won't last for long, can be kept in the refregirator, at the most for a week, since it might have been sprouted too well while coming to the market.But when we sprout at home, we can refregierate while the tiny sprouts start to show through, and can stay for 10 or 15 days.They continue to grow...but a bit slower than outside.Slight colour change is the indication that it is time to finish it.

Dear Latha,

Congrats on ur pregnancy.. hope everything goes fine.
This is what i do for sprouts.As u r from blore i shall use some kannada words (hope u can understand).
I soak some kalus like hesarakalu,kadalekalu for around 24 hrs,Then tie them up in wet cotton duppata and keep some heavy things on them.U can see the sprouts coming out.
Then what i do is put them in zip lock cover and store them in freezer.This way i am doing since 2 yrs and the sprouts remain fine.I have never used store bought sprouts in US.
Take care..

suji

Hi traveller,

Personally , I use the sprouts as soon as I make or buy them.

But here is some information that I found online for freezing sprouts....
How to make & freeze sprouts
You need -
Beans
A big bowl for soaking
colander with small perforations
Saran wrap
Ziploc Freezer bags (or any other brand, but make sure they are freezer bags!)
Permanent Marker

Method
1. Pick the beans for any impurities.
2. Wash them and soak in water till they are completely submerged. Soak them overnight or at least for 8 hours
3. Once the beans look swollen, drain all the water. Transfer them to a colander with small perforations.
4. Keep a small utensil under the colander to catch any water. Cover the colander tightly with saran wrap. Make sure the beans are not touching the wrap. In a few hours, you will see some droplets collected under the wrap. i.e. We are all set. The greenhouse dome is created and the beans will sprout soon.
5. keep the new apparatus in a warm place like microwave or oven.















6. It may take anywhere between 8 - 12 hour to get the sprouts depending on the weather.
7. Once the sprouts are ready, transfer them to individual "freezer friendly" ziploc bags. Write date by permanent marker so you know when you froze them and use them in the "FIFO" manner. (First In First Out)
8. Freeze them in the freezer.
9. Use them whenever you need them by thawing the bag in the refrigerator previous day. or run quickly under warm water.


Note -
1. As you all may very well know, the beans sprout better during summer time than winter. Try to use lukewarm water for soaking in the winter.



2. Use "freezer friendly" ziploc bags that means the bags that are specifically designed to use in the freezer. Regular ziploc bag may tear, gather too much ice, give freezer burns and cause a big mess.



3. While using the ziploc bag, make sure that the air is completely. Do not use plastic bags or plastic container to store the sprouts in the freezer.


4. There are some beans which take too much time to sprout. If you are not getting sprouts and the beans are turning slimy, then you have kept them out too long. I always have hard time sprouting black eyed peas irrespective of the weather. Moog that I got at Indian stores took a long time, but I had a awesome moong sprouts from moong from Whole Foods. It could very well be one wrong batch of moong from Indian stores.

5. I regularly sprout these beans with consistently good results - Masoor, Matki (Math beans), Moong, white peas, green peas, black peas, black chana, lima beans, small chowli, vaal, kulith



6. Try to use the freezer-friendly Ziploc bag which holds just enough sprouts for one use. The bags are available in quart or gallon size. I generally use quart size because I use the entire bag for one cooking, gallon size would be too much for us. Freezing, thawing and re-freezing is not really recommended.

7. These frozen sprouts need to be used for the curries/usals/pullaos etc for which you are going to cook the sprouts. If you are looking for eating them raw, then you probably need to have fresh sprouts.



Moog Sprouts



White Peas Sprouts





The above method was given by somebody called Meera in one website.

Will post more pics given by her.

Since some of the IL'ites cannot open attachments..thought I would copy and paste all the information for everyone to see.

Cheers
Krithika

Originally Posted by traveller

Hi all,

I looked for some info on the title and I hope i'm not repeating an already posted thread! I'm now in the last 2 months of my pregnancy. Like my first one (I went to India then so got fresh sprouts in Bangalore markets everyday) this time too I want to add sprouts to my diet. I want to ask:

1. Is it okay to freeze sprouts?
2. If yes how to freeze them?
3. If no how long can I keep them in normal refrigerator?

Thanks!
Latha

Here are more pictures posted by Meera.....



Red Chowli Sprouts



Green Chana sprouts


Lima Beans Sprouts

Matki/Moth Sprouts



Masoor Sprouts



Kulith/Horse Gram sprouts

Green Peas Sprouts



PICS and INFORMATION COURTESY : MEERA

Got information from one of the websites that I found online.

Cheers

hi krithika,
thanks for posting such info tips
raji

That's a wonderful post, Krithika. Thank you very much. I get only the chinese-style bean sprouts in the shops here that i normally buy and use immediately.

I have tied up some soaked moong and once it sprouts will freeze them.

Hi Suji: I'm from Chennai (blushing!)... my parents were in Bangalore for 2 yrs because of my brother's job. And at that time I went for delivery there. Summer time and oh my God so many wonderful things I got to eat My gyn in Bangalore was the one who told me to add lots of protein in the last 2 months. Since we're vegetarians and don't eat egg also (i mean not as hard-boiled... veges with exceptions hee hee) i ate steamed sprouts made like sundal everyday. Now again summer time here i also want to introduce sprouts to my son. Instead of making every time i think it's easier to do batches and freeze. Will follow the tips:)

Latha

Originally Posted by traveller

That's a wonderful post, Krithika. Thank you very much. I get only the chinese-style bean sprouts in the shops here that i normally buy and use immediately.

I have tied up some soaked moong and once it sprouts will freeze them.

Hi Suji: I'm from Chennai (blushing!)... my parents were in Bangalore for 2 yrs because of my brother's job. And at that time I went for delivery there. Summer time and oh my God so many wonderful things I got to eat My gyn in Bangalore was the one who told me to add lots of protein in the last 2 months. Since we're vegetarians and don't eat egg also (i mean not as hard-boiled... veges with exceptions hee hee) i ate steamed sprouts made like sundal everyday. Now again summer time here i also want to introduce sprouts to my son. Instead of making every time i think it's easier to do batches and freeze. Will follow the tips:)

Latha

hahaha!!! that was funny of me to assume that u stayed in bangalore for long and so i used kannada.
I think Krithika has explained it v well.

Me too a hard core veggi,do not eat even eggs also.Try to eat more sprouts,i love the taste.I am also going to soak some for the weekend,u made me drool for it now.
I read all ur posts in pregnancy forum.Going great!! Take care and eat well..

suji

Hi babyraji and traveller,

You are most welcome ! Glad you liked the tips from the post...once again courtesy to meera who had posted it online in one of the websites.

Cheers
Krithika (Jithiks)

Originally Posted by babyraji

hi krithika,
thanks for posting such info tips
raji

Originally Posted by traveller

That's a wonderful post, Krithika. Thank you very much. I get only the chinese-style bean sprouts in the shops here that i normally buy and use immediately.

I have tied up some soaked moong and once it sprouts will freeze them.

Hi Suji: I'm from Chennai (blushing!)... my parents were in Bangalore for 2 yrs because of my brother's job. And at that time I went for delivery there. Summer time and oh my God so many wonderful things I got to eat My gyn in Bangalore was the one who told me to add lots of protein in the last 2 months. Since we're vegetarians and don't eat egg also (i mean not as hard-boiled... veges with exceptions hee hee) i ate steamed sprouts made like sundal everyday. Now again summer time here i also want to introduce sprouts to my son. Instead of making every time i think it's easier to do batches and freeze. Will follow the tips:)

Latha

I need an information on these Ziplock bags.

Please help me in finding out shops where these ziplock bags are available in Chennai?