Lentil Sprouts.. YUM!!

[isis]

How many times do you guys rinse/drain your sprouts? I usually do it 4 or 5 times til they are a little under an inch long at the sprout.  I recently moved to a new place so I sprouted some of my first lentils this year last week. A small batch.. they were so yummy! Anyways..

I decided to make a larger batch. I am using a strainer and a bowl instead of a sprouter, rinsing at 8 hour intervals. Dried on a sheet tray upon completion for 20 hrs (forgot to throw em in the fridge before bed) All this done with a cool temperature, if I had to guess maybe around 55-60 degrees F

I believe the bowl was too small because as they began to expand it was creeping a little too close to the top, though not overflowing, I decided to overlook this. That was my largest glass bowl. After each rinse/drain cycle I did my best to drain completely, although my strainer  is plastic and does not drain properly so it made it difficult. Basically, the sprouts don't look as lively, they are not terrible looking, just not as green as they should be (Green lentil beans, I should mention) and have a slight more brown color to them than naturally consistent. I probably would just cook them, throw them in a soup, but what bothers me is (And I have never seen this before) 3 beans out of the whole cup were black or black spotted black. Of course this is probably mold, but would you say with how I prepared them they all might not be any good?

I suspect moisture got trapped in the small bowl at the bottom so I am going change containers next time but would you toss the whole batch? I had  them drying on 3 separate sheet trays so they were properly spaced and only one tray had the 3 black beans.

[Anna]

I rinse several times a day.  They are at the sink so just when I see them.  But sometimes it stretches out.  I think you had too many and a moisture issue.  I've never seen the black mold.  I'd toss any that looked questionable and maybe cook the rest.  It's hard to say without, seeing, touching, smelling.  You'll have a better sense from that.

I have found that larger batches are harder for me.  So, I just keep a couple of sprouters going at the same time (staggered a bit).   

[isis]

 That is a great idea, I am going to make some changes to my set up and try again. Thank you!! (: