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| Cress sprouts top ham with italian salad |
I live in Canada, and, like in the Scandinavian countries, locally grown fresh produce can be pretty hard to come by in the cold, dark winter months. Of course, thanks to the modern miracle of supermarkets, life in Canada isn't all scythes and root cellars; You can always buy butter, rye for rugbrød, pork for ham and rullepølse, and even assorted pickled vegetables like beets - indeed, you’ve got the four Danish food groups totally covered. But if you’re left feeling greenery-deficient from your all-smorrebrød diet in the winter months just do what I do – grow your own sprouts! In fact, sprouts are an essential component to great smorrebrød all year around for their spicy taste, texture and colour.
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| Sunflower sprouts will do in a pinch. Here they are looking fine on the veternarian's night snack! |
Yeah, yeah, I know – growing sprouts is so granola - but if you want to have authentic Danish smorrebrød you'll have to work on your green thumb, because sprouts are a must, and the most common Danish sprout variety is not generally sold in stores. In typical Quebec grocery stores you can often find alfalfa, mustard, pea and sunflour sprouts. These are fine in a pinch, but none of these provide quiet the same characteristic taste you find with the most common Danish sprout variety: Cress (which is sometimes known as Pepper Grass in North America).
Growing sprouts is dead easy. All it takes are a few ingredients you can often find at your local organic health food store:
As I mentioned above, cress is very Danish (called karse in Denmark), but if you want to mix it up from time to time, Arugula, Mustard, and other sprouts are all just as easy to grow, tasty, and almost as much fun as this.
- Seeds for sprouting
- Nutrient rich soil
- Food-grade hydrogen peroxide (if you’re a germ-o-phobe)
- A container with an opaque cover
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| Proof that Danes eat sprouts! Image courtesy of: "If Music Be The Food of Love, Play On" Check out the blog here. |
Note on sprouting and safety: I've never had problems myself, but I've heard of food-borne illnesses related to eating raw sprouts. Misting the seeds a couple of times a day with diluted hydrogen peroxide should help, but if you want to learn more about the risks, check out this information from Health Canada.
Here’s what you do to grow your own batch of cress sprouts:
1. Fill the bottom of your container with about 2 centimeters or loosely packed soil, then lightly tamp is down to even it out. (The container I use is about 15 x 30 centimeters and about 10 centimetres high).
2. Drizzle enough water around on the soil to moisten it, but be careful not to add too much water. You don’t want the seeds sitting in mud!
3. Evenly sprinkle the seeds in a single layer across the soil.
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| 1) Assemble your sprout-growing needs 2) sprinkle seeds on moistened soil 3) Leave seeds to sprout, covered 4) Uncover and let the magic of sunlight turn the sprouts green |
4. Give the seeds a good spray misting of water, or optionally, diluted food-grade hydrogen peroxide. This helps disinfect the seeds and reduces the chance of mold growing.
5. Cover the container and store out of the sunlight for about 3-4 days – misting the seeds lightly a couple of times a day.
6. Once the sprouts have begun to grow, you can remove the cover and place them in the sun. With exposure to the sun, the sprouts will turn nice and green.
7. Water as needed to ensure that the soil stays barely moist. Careful not to over water.
8. About 5 days after removing the cover, the sprouts will be ready to harvest. Simply grab a pair of scissors and cut about halfway down the sprout – then sprinkle liberally atop your favorite smorrebrød.
9. As always, enjoy smorrebrød with fork and knife
I am not a gardener, nor a sprout growing expert. If you want more detailed info about sprouts there are great references on the internet. Here's one sprout site that has a lot of useful information.
I am not a gardener, nor a sprout growing expert. If you want more detailed info about sprouts there are great references on the internet. Here's one sprout site that has a lot of useful information.
