2019 Laura® soybeans make great sprouts!

It’s been a long harvest season on the farm.  One of the biggest challenges we have is that of the natto-sprouting soybeans.  They are still not ready to go and we don’t know when they will be ready.  Because of this, I did some experimenting with the 2019 crop of Laura® soybeans.  This year harvest for the Laura® beans went well.  Harvest moisture levels couldn’t have been better at around 13% moisture and there were windows of opportunity when the ground was dry enough to harvest so the beans stayed very clean.  In addition, if the moisture is around 13% then damage to the beans during the harvest is extremely low so the soybeans have a high germination rate.

For my test, I took 3/4 of a cup dry Laura® Soybeans and put them in to a mason jar with a cheesecloth top in place of the metal lid.  Then I put twice as much water in the jar as soybeans and let sit in a dark cupboard for 10 hours.  Then every 10 to 12 hours I drained off the water, rinsed the beans and drained the water always making sure to put the jar back into a dark cupboard during the entire sprouting process.  In 5 days I had nice healthy looking sprouts.  I have outlined this procedure in our blog Sprouting made easy. One thing I learned is to sprout your beans in a cupboard or other dark area where light cannot hit the jar, this keeps the soybeans from turning green as they germinate.

Of course, Laura® beans make the best soymilk, tofu, tempeh and work great for making natto too.