Tips for removing alfalfa sprout hulls?

[Mrs. Papaya]

This has been driving me crazy! I have followed the usual tips to remove the hulls from my alfalfa sprouts: I submerge the sprouts in a big bowl of water, swirl them around the loosen the hulls, then scoop the floating hulls out with a spoon.

Of course, this is easier said than done. The floating hulls get mixed in with the sprouts and many, many hulls don't come off the sprouts in the first place. I do find that contrary to the advice, many hulls sink in the water. But no matter what I do, I cannot seem to de-hull the sprouts to my satisfaction. There always seem to be TONS of hulls left on the sprouts.

I don't particularly mind eating hulls; what I don't like is that these sprouts don't get exposed to the sun and "green up" because they are still covered by their hulls.

I assume some of you must have tips you have developed over time. If so, please share! :) Do you just accept the fact that there will be a lot of hulls left? Do you spend an hour de-hulling each batch? Do you use a salad spinner?

I guess I also get frustrated when I see that alfalfa sprouts in the store never seem to have this hull issue. What are *they* doing to de-hull the sprouts that I'm not?

Thanks!!

[DebB]

I just dehulled my sprouts (50-50 alfalfa & clover) tonight. Yes, there are always some hulls left and I suffer sprout casualties - the ones that get left behind in the hull soup.

I wonder if perhaps you used a bigger bowl to give them their bath? I use one that's literally as big as my sink (one side of a double sink). I fill that bowl almost full and then I stick my hand in there and really swish it back and forth like fast moving wiper blades, dislodging most hulls.

I then use my little gravy ladle to get the floating hulls. When I get most of them, then I (sorta gingerly) pick the sprouts up and out of the water, placing them in a nut milk bag. There will be floating sprouts left in with the hulls that sink to the bottom. Not a problem to lose some as I sprout 3T in a half gallon jar, so there's puh-lenty left!

Then I step out onto my back deck with the nut milk bag and twirl it round and round like a lasso. I put the sprouts into a clean glass jar, cover with a clean dish cloth held in place with a rubber band and pop it in the fridge.

I green up the sprouts before I give them their final rinse. Yes there are some hulls in there, but like you said - I don't want to spend a half hour doing this.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see how they do this commercially? The sprouts I sometimes buy at the store are amazingly hull free! *Ü*

Back to add a couple pictures. The first one is of the sprouts ready to get the hulls skimmed off. The second one shows the hulls that sink.