Are sprouts supposed to be stinky?

Hello all,

Okay, so I grew my first batch of baby sprouts - spelt, rye, barley, lentils, sunflower seeds, millet, and buckwheat.

Then lentils didn't smell, the sunflower seeds didn't smell; but the others had this smell - sort of like a cross between bad cheese and sour milk.

I rinsed them two or three times daily as instructed and kept them on my counter covered with paper towel.

Everything sprouted just fine, but that smell...is that normal or did I do something wrong? Is that like the beginning of rejuvelac or what?

I actually threw the barley sprouts out because I just couldn't stand the smell. But the others are in jars in the fridge.

Can someone please advise?

Thanks!

I don't think they are suppose to smell. When you first soaked them did some of the seeds float? If they did then the seeds were bad and they rotted instead of sprouting. If there is doubt about mold or ferment, I wouldn't use them....kirk

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Originally Posted by kirk

I don't think they are suppose to smell. When you first soaked them did some of the seeds float? If they did then the seeds were bad and they rotted instead of sprouting. If there is doubt about mold or ferment, I wouldn't use them....kirk

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Thanks Kirk. I wondered if they'd be alright or not with the whole "rejuvelac" thing and all. I'll hang on to 'em one more day to see if any other responses come and to say it's okay. If not, I'll toss 'em.

Thanks again

I have sprouts sprouting almost every day, usually alfalfa or mung beans but sometimes other things. I usually rinse them only once or twice each day but I have noticed that they have a funny smell to them. However I usually just eat them anyway as long as they taste good. Then again it is possible if you have bad seeds (like Kirk said in the post before) they could be rotting and causing the smell but usually you can tell just by looking at the sprouts.

hiya cheri,

I did the same thing!
My mung and alfalfa always sprout easy, no smell, but I tried buckwheat and quinoa and they both stunk - yuck. I threw them out too, they weren't mouldy and they were rinsed well, just the kitchen really smelled - I was torn coz I know the quinoa is really good for you but by body saied a definite ICK NO so in the bin they went.
ALfalfa is great and mung are good sprouters too - i'm going to stick with these 2.

Thanks Analeah and Thunderdancer!

Yeah, the sprouts looked fine. Now, my spelt didn't smell bad at all...the others had the weird smell. But they don't look moldy or whatnot.

I'd really like to get Alissa's opinion on this too because much of this sprouting was per her recipes. I'm not really interested in sprouting for the purpose of eating sprouts (not that deep for me :p ) but mainly because the recipes call for sprouted this, that or the other.

Here is something in one of my books..."The most frequent problem encountered in the sprouting process is spoilage. Bad seeds, inconsistent rinsings or too much heat, contaminated water, and inadequate ventilation are the most common causes of spoilage. Spoiled sprouts do not taste good, and can quickly contaminate healthy sprouts. Equally important, they have lost much of their nutritional value."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kirk

Here is something in one of my books..."The most frequent problem encountered in the sprouting process is spoilage. Bad seeds, inconsistent rinsings or too much heat, contaminated water, and inadequate ventilation are the most common causes of spoilage. Spoiled sprouts do not taste good, and can quickly contaminate healthy sprouts. Equally important, they have lost much of their nutritional value."

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Good points, Kirk. AND they can cause bacterial infections...the dreaded "e-coli" is purported to be an issue with raw (spoiled) sprouts, according to the FDA.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kirk

Here is something in one of my books..."The most frequent problem encountered in the sprouting process is spoilage. Bad seeds, inconsistent rinsings or too much heat, contaminated water, and inadequate ventilation are the most common causes of spoilage. Spoiled sprouts do not taste good, and can quickly contaminate healthy sprouts. Equally important, they have lost much of their nutritional value."

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Arrrrgg! Oh well, I'll go ahead and toss out the stinky sprouts 'cause I definitely don't wanna chance getting sick. This really complicates things and perhaps I'll just try and do without grains or the recipes that call for them. :rolleyes:

But once again, what about folks who purposely grow fermented sprouts/grains for that rejuvelac stuff???

Thanks so much Kirk for lookin' out!

Rawkinlocs,

Cleanliness is real important when fermenting anything IMO. There is always a possibility of growing an unhealthy bacteria (even with rejuvelac). It is important to remove the "floaters" and the cracked seeds or they will produce a low quality ferment.
Whenever I ferment wheatberries for rejuvelac I try to not use ground water (from my sink), I use a container fresh from the dishwasher, and I cover it with several layers of cheesecloth to keep it from getting gnats and other unwelcome creatures in it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kirk

Rawkinlocs,

Cleanliness is real important when fermenting anything IMO. There is always a possibility of growing an unhealthy bacteria (even with rejuvelac). It is important to remove the "floaters" and the cracked seeds or they will produce a low quality ferment.
Whenever I ferment wheatberries for rejuvelac I try to not use ground water (from my sink), I use a container fresh from the dishwasher, and I cover it with several layers of cheesecloth to keep it from getting gnats and other unwelcome creatures in it.

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OOHHH, I see now! Kirk, you're such a gem! Thanks for that little lesson in sprouting/fermenting! I mean, I used clean mason jars, didn't use cheesecloth as I didn't have any and Alissa's book said I could use paper towel, so that's what I used to cover BUT, didn't do several or even a couple of layers and the water I used was ground water filtered through a PUR filter thingy.

Again, all seems too complicated for my already hectic lifestyle...but perhaps I'll try again at a later date! But no "floaters", no cracked seeds...definitely things I didn't know this time around, but will remember next time! Thanks again :)

Hello all, All of this sprout talk has got me wondering if any of you just skip the whole sprout thing and eat only raw foods that don't require sprouting? I haven't tried it yet and I'm a little hesitant. Is it ok to avoid those foods completely? I may end up trying sprouting but right now I can't handle the pressure of doing it right! Silly, huh? Definitely don't want ecoli either-I've had it before! Yuck.
Thanks, Rawal

When you sprout, do you turn the jar over at a 45 degree angle, so that they drain well? If the seeds sit in soggy water, they can go bad.