Let's grow your Clover sprouts
Soak today. Your sprouts are typically ready in 5 to 7 days.
- Soak4 to 8 hours
- Rinse2 to 3 times a day
- Typically ready5 to 7 days
Please read the food safety box before you eat your first batch. Always cook clover sprouts until steaming hot before eating.
Show me the 3 steps3 steps
Everything you need is on your pack. Here it is again, step by step.
-
Soak
Put the seeds in a clean sprouting jar or sprouter and cover with clean drinking water. Soak for 4 to 8 hours.
-
Rinse
Drain, then rinse and drain 2 to 3 times a day, keeping the seeds out of direct sunlight.
-
Harvest
Typically ready in 5 to 7 days. Rinse, drain well and refrigerate.
- Use about 2 tablespoons of seeds for a 1 litre jar. They swell a lot, so less is more.
- After each rinse, rest the jar upside down at an angle so it drains well.
- Store harvested sprouts covered in the fridge and use within a few days.
Food safety
Raw sprouts can carry harmful bacteria and rinsing does not remove all risk. Always cook sprouts until steaming hot before eating. This applies to everyone, including pregnant people, young children, older people and anyone unwell. Use clean equipment and drinking water, refrigerate harvested sprouts promptly and discard any that smell off or show mould.
- Wash your hands before handling seeds and sprouts.
- Wash jars, sprouters, trays and lids in hot soapy water before and after every batch.
About these seeds (from your pack)
- Ingredients: Organic clover seeds for sprouting.
- May contain cereals containing gluten, soya, celery and mustard.
- Storage: Store seeds sealed in a cool, dry, dark place.
- Country of origin: Italy.
- Organic: Certified organic by the Soil Association, control body GB-ORG-05.
Day by day
Day 0 is the day you soak. Every kitchen is different, so yours may be a day ahead or behind. That's fine.
Day 0: Soak
- You will see
- Small seeds, a little rounder than alfalfa.
- What to do
- Wash your hands, and wash a 1 litre jar in hot soapy water. Add about 2 tablespoons of seeds and rinse them. Cover with two to three times their volume of cool drinking water. Soak for 4 to 8 hours. Then pour away all the water, shake out as much as you can, and rest the jar upside down at an angle. Keep it out of direct sunlight.
Day 1: Swelling
- You will see
- The seeds look plumper. Some may split, and a few tiny white tails may peep out.
- What to do
- Rinse and drain 2 to 3 times a day. Morning and evening is the minimum. Drain well each time and tilt the jar so air can flow.
Day 2: Tails
- You will see
- More white tails, getting longer. You may spot fine, fuzzy white hairs on the roots. These are root hairs, and they're normal (see the checker below).
- What to do
- Keep rinsing and draining 2 to 3 times a day. Rinse more often if your kitchen is warm.
Day 3: Growing
- You will see
- Longer, thin white sprouts. Loose seed hulls start to show.
- What to do
- Keep rinsing and draining. Give the jar a quick sniff. Fresh sprouts smell clean and mild.
Day 4: First leaves
- You will see
- Tiny pale leaves start to open at the tips, and the sprouts start to fill the jar.
- What to do
- Keep rinsing and draining 2 to 3 times a day. If the sprouts pack tightly, give the jar a gentle shake after rinsing so water and air reach the middle.
Day 5: Often ready from today
- You will see
- Sprouts a few centimetres long, with small leaves.
- What to do
- You can harvest now, or keep going for a day or two if you'd like them bigger. Optional: for their last day, sit the jar in bright light but not direct sun, so the leaves turn greener.
Day 6: Harvest day for most people
- You will see
- Well-grown sprouts with open leaves.
- What to do
- Give them a final rinse. To remove loose hulls, tip the sprouts into a bowl of drinking water, swish gently and skim the hulls off the top. Drain well for a few hours so they go into the fridge fairly dry. Store them in a covered container in the fridge. Cook them until steaming hot before eating.
Day 7: Last day of the usual window
- You will see
- Longer sprouts with bigger, greener leaves.
- What to do
- Harvest today if you haven't already. Rinse, drain well and refrigerate. Cook them until steaming hot before eating, and eat within a few days.
Rinse tracker
| Day | Morning | Evening | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Soak 4 to 8 hours, then drain | ||
| Day 1 | |||
| Day 2 | Root hairs may appear | ||
| Day 3 | Sniff test | ||
| Day 4 | |||
| Day 5 | Often ready from today | ||
| Day 6 | Harvested | ||
| Day 7 |
Is it mould or root hairs?
This is the question new sprouters ask most. Here's how to tell.
Root hairs: fine
- Fine, fuzzy and white, just above the tip of each root.
- Usually appear on day 2 or 3.
- Rinse the sprouts: root hairs flatten and almost disappear when wet, then come back as the sprouts dry.
- Smell: clean and mild.
- What to do: nothing. Carry on rinsing.
Mould: bin it
- Often grey, green, black or blue, or white and cottony or slimy.
- Spreads over the seeds and hulls rather than the roots.
- Does not disappear when you rinse.
- Usually smells musty.
- What to do: throw the whole batch away. Do not try to rinse or cut it off. Wash the jar and lid in hot soapy water before starting again.
- you see mould;
- the sprouts smell sour, rotten or musty;
- they feel slimy;
- you're not sure. If in doubt, throw it out.
Drain thoroughly after every rinse, rinse more often in warm weather, keep the jar tilted so air can flow, and grow a smaller amount at a time.
Not sprouting?
- Soak for 4 to 8 hours in clean drinking water.
- Drain, then rinse and drain 2 to 3 times a day.
- After each rinse, rest the jar upside down at an angle so it drains well.
- Keep the seeds out of direct sunlight.
- Typically ready in 5 to 7 days.
- Store seeds sealed in a cool, dry, dark place.
Didn't sprout? Tell us about your batch
Recipes
Clover sprouts have a mild, fresh flavour and soften quickly in hot dishes. Every idea below cooks the sprouts until they are steaming hot.
Clover sprout and potato hash
Serves 2
You need
- 2 good handfuls of clover sprouts (about 100 g)
- 400 g cooked potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 eggs (optional)
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the potatoes and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, turning now and then, until golden and hot all the way through.
- Add the sprouts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until wilted and everything is steaming hot. Season. If you like, fry the eggs in a separate pan until set and serve on top.
Leek and potato soup with clover sprouts
Serves 2
You need
- 2 good handfuls of clover sprouts (about 100 g)
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 large potato, diced
- A knob of butter
- 700 ml vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Melt the butter in a pan and soften the leek for 5 minutes.
- Add the potato and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the potato is soft. Blend if you like a smooth soup.
- Stir in the sprouts and simmer for 2 minutes until they have wilted and the soup is steaming hot. Season and serve.
Mushroom and clover sprout stir-fry
Serves 2
You need
- 2 good handfuls of clover sprouts (about 100 g)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 200 g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Cooked rice or noodles for 2
Method
- Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the mushrooms for 3 to 4 minutes until golden.
- Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the sprouts and soy sauce and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until everything is steaming hot. Serve with rice or noodles.
Quick idea: stir a handful of sprouts into a soup for the last 2 minutes and simmer until steaming hot.
Check the labels of your other ingredients, such as eggs, butter, stock, soy sauce and noodles, for allergens.
Like your sprouts cold? Cook them first, then cool them.
Sprouts blanched until steaming hot, then cooled, in a sandwich. Image for illustration.
Blanched clover sprout sandwich with egg mayonnaise and tomato
Serves 1
You need
- 2 slices of seeded wholemeal bread
- 1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon shop-bought mayonnaise
- 1 tomato, sliced
- A good handful of clover sprouts (about 50 g), blanched as below
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil.
- Add a good handful of sprouts (about 50 g) and stir to separate them. When the water is back at a rolling boil, boil for 2 minutes, until the sprouts are soft and steaming hot all the way through.
- Wash your hands. Drain the sprouts in a clean sieve that has not touched raw sprouts, then cool them quickly under cold running drinking water. Shake off the water and pat dry with clean kitchen paper.
- Use straight away in your sandwich, or keep covered in the fridge, away from raw sprouts, and eat the same day.
- Mix the chopped egg with the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Spread it on one slice of bread, add the tomato and cooled sprouts, and top with the second slice.
This recipe contains egg, which is an allergen. Check the labels of your other ingredients, such as bread and mayonnaise, for allergens. Seeded breads often contain sesame, and mayonnaise can contain mustard.
About Clover seeds
Clover is a small-seeded plant from the pea family. Its seeds grow into fine sprouts with small, round green leaves, which look a lot like alfalfa sprouts but with slightly rounder leaves. The flavour is mild and fresh, and, as with all small seeds, a good drain after every rinse helps.
Questions
How long do I soak Clover seeds?
Soak for 4 to 8 hours in clean drinking water. Small seeds like these don't need an overnight soak. Soaking far longer can stop seeds sprouting, so set a timer if it helps.
How do I rinse them?
Fill the jar with fresh drinking water, swirl, then drain well through the mesh lid. Rest the jar upside down at an angle so extra water can drain and air can flow. Do this 2 to 3 times a day, morning and evening as a minimum, and more often in warm weather.
How much seed should I use?
Use about 2 tablespoons of small seeds for a 1 litre jar. Seeds swell a lot, so less is more.
What should they smell like?
Fresh sprouts smell clean and mild, a bit like fresh peas or cut grass. A sour, rotten or musty smell means something has gone wrong, so throw the batch away.
How do I store the sprouts, and for how long?
After the final rinse, drain them well for a few hours so they go into the fridge fairly dry. Keep them in a covered container in the fridge, eat them within a few days, and cook them until steaming hot before eating. Store the unused seeds sealed in a cool, dry, dark place and use them by the best before date on the pack.
My seeds aren't sprouting. What's wrong?
Too cold: seeds sprout well at a comfortable room temperature, around 20 to 25°C. In a cold kitchen they can take a day or two longer. Too long in water: drain well after every rinse and don't leave the jar sitting in water. Drying out: rinse at least twice a day. Seed storage: seeds kept warm, damp or open to the air sprout less well. A few hard seeds are normal. Pick them out at harvest.
Some seeds are slow to start. Is that normal?
Timings are typical ranges. Your sprouts may be a little faster or slower depending on how warm your kitchen is and how big you like them. In a cold kitchen they can take a day or two longer.
What about the seeds that stay hard?
A few hard seeds are normal. At harvest, tip the sprouts into a bowl of drinking water and swish gently: loose hulls float to the top so you can skim them off, and you can pick out any hard seeds that are left.
Which directions should I follow?
Always follow any directions on your pack.
Can I eat the sprouts without cooking them?
No. Cook sprouts thoroughly until steaming hot before eating. Please read the food safety box above.
Do I need special equipment?
No. A large glass jar (about 1 litre) with a mesh or sieve lid does the job, or a sprouter if you have one. You also need clean drinking water and somewhere to rest the jar upside down at an angle, like a bowl or dish rack.