Food

Food Information

Vegetables

Leafy Greens

SPROUTS

The crisp, tender sprouts of various germinated beans and seeds. Mungbean sprouts, used often in Chinese cooking, are the most popular. However,other seeds and beans ­p; such as alfalfa and radish seeds, lentils,soybeans and wheat berries ­p; may also be sprouted. For optimumcrispness, sprouts are best eaten raw. They may also be stir-fried or sautéed,but should only be cooked for 30 seconds or less; longer cooking will wiltthe sprouts. Though you may grow your own fresh sprouts (refer to a generalcookbook), they're available in most large supermarkets. Choose crisp-lookingsprouts with the buds attached; avoid musty-smelling, dark or slimy-lookingsprouts. Mung-bean sprouts should be refrigerated in a plastic bag for nomore than 3 days. More delicate sprouts ­p; like alfalfa sprouts ­p;should be refrigerated in the ventilated plastic container in which they'reusually sold and kept for no more than 2 days. Canned mung-bean sprouts­p; available in most supermarkets ­p; do not have either the textureor flavor of fresh.

Lentil / Mung Bean / Sunflower

Deamer 5/97