Where do bean sprouts come from? This was another horticultural question posed to me the other day. I laughed. I thought it was obvious that bean sprouts are the barely germinated seeds of beans. You can sprout a lot of different seeds like alfalfa and broccoli and many other kinds of vegetables and grains. The seeds are moistened and sprouted and then used in salads, oriental dishes, etc. Just so obvious by looking at them!
But then I got to thinking… Brussel sprouts aren’t germinated seeds, are they? They are a vegetable that grows in the leaf axils of the plant and look like little cabbages. Technically, I think they are axillary buds. So maybe it isn’t so obvious where bean sprouts come from!
I’ve never grown Brussel sprouts, because I don’t like them. Plus, I’ve found that cabbage and broccoli, and I presume the closely related Brussel sprouts, are some of the “buggiest” vegetables you can grow. No matter how much you rinse and soak home-grown broccoli, you still find at least one little green worm still snuggled down in there. Gross!
I am the “garden idiot” that at least cooks, that was wondering where the bean sprouts I was eating one night came from.. Was it a plant growing in a field? No, I didn’t think so.. Was it a grasslike plant growing in very wet and swampy low-lands, then harvest by whacking them off.. no that seemed weird too. And, sorry, Carol, I didn’t think of Brussel Sprouts though I’d love eating some of those if you could grow them bug-free and chemical-free!