How to Use a Wine Rack as a Sprouter

Enhance your diet with home-grown bean sprouts.

If eating the same foods day after day bores you, try adding bean sprouts to your diet. No two types of sprouts taste the same, and they all offer different health benefits. A sunflower sprout, for example, has a nutty flavor and is high in Vitamin D, while the earthy-tasting alfalfa sprout is high in antioxidants and contains phytoestrogens. A wine rack provides a creative alternative to a store-bought sprouter. The wine rack's individual cubbyholes form individual trays. Put a different type of bean in each cubbyhole to enjoy a variety of great-tasting sprouts.

Things You'll Need

• Wine rack
• 2 mm wire mesh
• Tape measure
• Jelly-roll pan
• Netting clips
• Netting clip pliers
• Plastic wrap
• Large towel or hemp bag

Instructions

1. Acquire a small metal wine rack. Make sure to get a wine rack with separate cubbyholes, stacked at least two high. The compartments must be bottomless. Pour enough water into the top of the empty rack to wet the ground below it.

2. Measure the perimeter of the rack and add one inch to each side. This is the amount of mesh that you will need. Center the mesh over the middle rack and secure it to the form of the rack with netting clips. If you are using a wine rack with more than two levels, you can place the sprouts on multiple levels. Attach mesh to each level of the rack that will be used to grow the sprouts.

3. Place the rack on top of a jelly-roll pan. When you pour water into the top of the rack, this pan will catch the excess water.

4. Cover the entire wine rack with plastic wrap. Then place a towel over it. This will keep the sprouts shaded and moist.

Tips & Warnings

• Pour water into the top of the sprouter twice a day. The water will rinse the sprouts and drain into the jelly-roll pan. Dump the jelly-roll pan after each rinsing and re-cover the sprouts.

• Bean sprouts can carry salmonella. Make sure your seed distributor is certified by the ISGA, and always wash the sprouts with filtered water before you eat them.

References

• International Sprout Growers Association -- Good Sprout News: Nutrition and Information
• The World's Healthiest Foods: How Can You Be Sure That Sprouts Are Safe to Eat?