Sprouts the Miracle Food – Steve Meyerowitz – Sproutman Publications (US) 2010 ISBN 1 878736 04 3 – There is quite a bit of detail on sprout growing in this one, but the author has his own sprouting business (Sproutman) and tends to push his own sprouters, seeds etc,. There is quite a bit of DIY info too, though. There is lots of stuff on types of sprouters, how to sprout, seeds and how to store them, nutritional values for the sprouts, how to store the sprouts once they are harvested etc. He does talk about medicinal qualities of sprouts, but it would probably be worth checking out any claims before accepting them. There is also stuff you might not necessarily think about, like sprouting using purified water and which purifier to get, using hydrogen peroxide to prevent mould and mixing seeds to get a more diverse sprout harvest. There are a few black and white photos and line drawings.
Sprouting Beans and Seeds – Judy Ridgeway – Century Publishing (UK) 1984 ISBN 0 7126 0323 9 – The book goes through why you should eat sprouts and then gives a detailed description of the sprouts which can be used for sprouting covering appearance and flavour, nutritional value and uses for 25 species. There is then a comprehensive chapter on growing sprouts at home followed by a large selection of recipes using sprouts cold, and large selection of recipes using cooked sprouts. There a few line drawings but no photos.
The Speedy Vegetable Garden – Mark Diacono and Lia Leendertz – Timber Press (US/UK) 2013 ISBN 978 1 60469 326 3 – This one is a bit different from the others, it covers a number of ways of getting the quickest harvest you can manage. The book starts off with sprouts and ‘soaks’ and then moves on to microgreens, edible flowers, cut-and-come-again salad leaves, and quick harvest vegetables. Each section taking longer to get a harvest. There is one page generically about soaks and sprouts then a series of entries covering specific seeds, providing a bit of info on cultivation and a recipe or two. The microgreen section is set up similarly with not a huge amount of data on either the sprouting or microgreen process. The book has lots of colour photos, usually on every other page.
Year-Round Indoor Salad Sprouting – Peter Burke – Chelsea Green Publishing (US) 2015 ISBN 978 1 60358 615 3 – The book is a comprehensive exploration of what the author calls ‘soil sprouts’ which to me appears to be a cross between sprouts and microgreens. Their chief advantage is they need no direct light and can provide fresh food when there is 6 foot of snow on the ground. The book starts out (part 1) with a review of the advantages of soils sprouting, how they differ from traditional sprouts and microgreens and tools and accessories required. Part 2 is a detailed treatise on how to grow soil sprouts and part 3 covers which seeds to use and reviews them seed by seed and even includes some recipes. A fascinating book with lots of colour photos. My own humble experiments with soil sprouts (based on the info in the book) can be found here.
Sprouts and Sprouting – Valerie Cupillard – Grub Street (UK) 2007 ISBN 978 1 904943 90 7 – The book starts out with why we should eat sprouts, talks about wheat and barley juice, then covers the general sprouting of seeds. The book then gives a series of detailed instructions on how to sprout each of the following seeds – alfalfa, hulled sunflower seeds, lentils, quinoa and fenugreek. Sprout (essene) bread is also mentioned. The rest of the books is taken up with a series of sprout based recips around appetizers, sauces, raw dishes, main dishes, dessert etc. Lots of colour photos including one every other page in the recipe section.
