Beans are most commonly sprouted, but
many of our food seeds can be sprouted to
advantage. Sprouted wheat and barley, for
example, develop a sweetness as their
enzymes begin to break down stored starch
into sugars for the embryonic plant. Sprouts
have a nutritional value midway between that
of the dry seed, which they just were, and a
leafy green vegetable, which they’re on the
way to becoming. Sprouts are higher in
vitamin C and lower in calories than most
seeds, and higher than most vegetables in
protein (5% versus about 2%) and in the B
vitamins and iron.
Cooking Seeds
Seeds are the driest and hardest ingredients
that cooks deal with. Most require both
moisture and heat to make them edible. Most,
but not all: the nuts are generally edible and
nutritious fresh out of the shell or after a brief