FAQ
If you’re looking to add some extra nutrition to your diet, microgreens are a great place for you to start. What are microgreens and what are their health benefits? Microgreens are vegetables or herbs that are harvested just after they’ve sprouted and produced their first set of true leaves. They’re used by chefs in dishes for both their flavor and visual appeal. Microgreens have a number of benefits depending on what type you’re eating. Including some big claims like reducing your cancer risk, lowering cholesterol, and more.
Microgreens are like baby plants. You harvest them just one to two weeks after they’ve germinated (started to grow out of their seeds). Most microgreens are between one and three inches tall when they’re harvested. They’re small, but microgreens are packed with a high concentration of nutrients and some varieties also offer an intense flavor. They’re also a lot more tender than full-sized greens. If you think of baby spinach compared to fully grown spinach, you can imagine that same level of texture difference between baby spinach and spinach microgreens.
All vegetables and greens will last longer if you store them properly, and microgreens are no exception.
Maintaining moisture is a key part of keeping your microgreens fresh and crunchy.
One of the best and simplest ways to store them is to put them between damp pieces of paper towels and then seal them in a plastic bag or container.
If you store your microgreens this way, you should expect them to stay good in your refrigerator for up to a week.
It’s best to leave your microgreens in the refrigerator until right up until they need to go on to your plate or into your recipe. That way they won’t start to dry out or wilt before you get to serve them.
Here are some extra tips to make your microgreens last as long as possible.
1) Keep them cool
Microgreens like to be kept cool. Around 36 degrees F (around 2 degrees C.) Normal refrigerators can run at up to 40 F (4.5 C) so you may want to check your settings and turn your fridge down a bit if you’re able to.
2) Keep them out of sunlight
Microgreens love light when they’re still growing. But once you harvest them, it’s best to keep them out of direct sunlight.
Exposing some varieties of microgreens to sunlight after they’ve been harvested can alter their taste and appearance.
3) Wash them with care
It’s a good idea for health reasons to wash your microgreens before eating them, just like any vegetable. But microgreens can bruise easily, so they need to be handled with care.
You don’t need to drown them. Just lightly rinse them in cold water and then gently run them through a salad spinner to dry them off if you’ve got one.
It’s best to wash your microgreens right before you’re going to use them, not before you store them in the refrigerator. Otherwise they may have excess moisture and deteriorate more quickly.
info about micros
If you’re looking for something spicy, radish and mustard microgreens can add some zing to your dishes.
Other microgreens have flavors that are neutral, sweet, or even sour!
As a general rule, microgreens taste like a more intense version of their full-sized vegetable forms. So when in doubt, just pick a microgreen variety of a vegetable or herb that you already enjoy eating.
Don’t be scared of using microgreens to add some more color to your recipes as well. Microgreens come in a variety of colors including vibrant shades of red, yellow, purple, and of course green!
Check out our complete list of different microgreens to see the full range of microgreens available.
With sprouts you eat the entire thing, including the root, and they haven’t produced their first true set of leaves yet.
Microgreens are typically grown in soil or coco coir and cut off at stem level.
