Posh Cress (Biosnacky Germinator Jar)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Biosnacky Germinator Jar
Date:	28/04/09 (196 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and delicious and full of goodness.

Disadvantages: None

Something to munch for a "Credit Crunch Lunch", these cheap little sprouts I am going to tell you about are all the same really as cress, which you always see in supermarkets, and which many children delight in growing at home. In a way these are the posh version of cress!

In our house we do have some weird and wonderful items, and this is one of them. The Biosnacky Jar. It's simple and it's effective and it produces some delicious sprouted seeds in a few days at the fraction of the price you would pay in the shops, if you can even find them at all in retail outlets that is.

It sells for £4.99 and it is available from many health food stores and online at www.goodnessdirect.co.uk. Made by A Vogel who is a household name in whole foods across Europe.

This is a very basic model of what is really the most simple way of germinating seeds you can imagine, other than by using a jam jar and a piece of muslin, which I have used in the past. This is, however is a lot less messy, and a lot more straight forward to use. The jar has a screw top lid with holes in for ventilation, and to ensure the seeds are treated to adequate oxygen.

My main reasons for growing these is that sprouted seeds are very nutritious, and they contain over 400% more protein than lettuce. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, and the great thing is they are so fresh when you grow them yourself. Being baby plants they are little powerhouses of nutrients, and are ideal for anyone who is following a healthy diet.

To grow them is a doddle. You just buy some seeds for sprouting. All the major catalogues do them, and then you place a layer at the bottom of the jar, having washed them in a sieve first. You then soak for 12 hours in the jar in water, and then drain off the excess and replace the lid. Then you place in a cool place at room temp out of direct sun and wait. You should rinse and drain them a couple of times each day, as the water often has a seaside smell to it, which is not condusive to healthy sprouts, and depending on the variety you choose you will have some delicious sprouts to eat by the end of 5 days or so, as the shoots grow to fill the jar within no time!

I love to use Alfalfa for this as it produces light, crisp, easy to eat shoots which are brilliant in sandwiches, and in salads, but you can select yours from any good seed catalogue. My favourite catalogue is from www.suffolkherbs.com as here they have a great selection. This company are also really good for the more obscure and beautiful veg varieties, if you are a keen gardener it is well worth looking them out. You can sprout mung and aduki beans very successfully in this simple jar, and the highly nutritious broccoli seeds are perfect for this too. If you are planning to add them to a stir fry then do so at the final moment, as you will otherwise lose the nutrients by cooking them.

As soon as the seeds are ready I usually decant mine into little plastic bags and refrigerate them, and they are best eaten within a week.

The great thing is you can either have several of these Biosnacky jars on the go at once, which will yield a constant supply of sprouted seeds, or you can even buy the next step up from these whish is the Biosnacky large germinator, which is a three tiered affair suitable for growing several varieties at once.

I have bought these sprouted seeds in the health food shop where they retail for just over a £1 for a small bag, but their availability is quite sporadic which is why I like to grow these myself .

We have taken the jar on holiday quite often, and in cottages we have made our own sprouts which have really proved of great benefits in some of our more remote locations.

The jar is brilliant in that it is happy to go into the dishwasher making it perfectly clean between sowings, and it is shatter proof too. They do recommend you place it in the upper tray only though, as it is only heat proof to 85°C. It is made from eco friendly glass acrylic.

The small nature of this simple device means if you have got a small kitchen and no garden you can still grow your own healthy food, and if you have little ones they will love to be involved in growing their own food! Mine certainly were and they really delighted in feeling they were part of it all.

Over the years we have had one or two little snags which I think we have managed to overcome now. Don't be over generous with the seeds, they need space, and if you pile in too many they simply won't grow. In rare instances ours have gone mouldy. This is nearly always because they have got too hot, or sometimes if we have been too busy to rinse them thoroughly twice a day. It is also really important to be very hygienic with the equipment between sowings keeping it spotlessly clean.

Other than this it is simple, hassle free and cheap nutrition, and if you go to www.avogel.co.uk you can find lots of handy tips and recipes to use with theses delicious little salad sprouts. They also do a full mail order service including starter packs and seeds.

Summary: Something really simple which provides cheap and healthy food.