You didn't listen to your mom when she told you to, "eat your microgreens." Well you probably should've listened. Most of us probably didn't know what microgreens were when we saw the little leaves on out plates. You just assumed it was for show. You were wrong my friend. Microgreens aren't just pretty to look at, they're a statement on where life is heading. Unassuming exuberance while packing a hefty punch. We've managed to compile a list of our favorites(for now).
Broccoli Microgreens
According to research conducted at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Broccoli microgreens
contain up to 40 times the sulfurophane found in mature broccoli, by weight. They're fast, easy to grow and really pretty to look at!
Benefits of Broccoli
•Nutritious super-food
•Easily digestible
•Mild Flavor
•Source of fiber, vitamins & minerals
•Fast and easy to grow
Purple Sango Radish Microgreens
Purple sango radish is fast and easy to grow. Due to its fast growth, it can be harvested in as early as 5 days; assuming it has been exposed to light by day 3. You can flip the lid a day before exposing to light to strengthen the crop. Sango radish dons a spectacular shade of purple (with an occassional green) that adds crunch, radish flavor and amazingly colorful hightlights to any microgreen salad or full sized salad.
Benefits of Purple Sango Radish
•Nutritious super-food
•Aids digestion
•Source of fiber, vitamins & minerals
•Spicy flavor
•Fast and easy to grow
Ruby Streaks Microgreens
Ruby streaks mustard microgreens with their purple veining, add loft, spice and rosy elegance to any salad plate or stir-fry. Color is darkest when sown summer through fall. Mix with Golden Frill for a gorgeous display! The deeply serrated, attractive mustard looks as tempting as it tastes. The radiant, mulberry flushed green with cherry red veining leaves have a delicate texture and mild, sweet mustard flavor. Spirited, yet tender enough to liven up salads, and stout enough to stand on its own in steamed or stir-fried dishes.
Benefits of Ruby Streaks
•Super-food
•Easy to grow
•Spicy flavor
•Ready to eat in just 14 days
Arugula Microgreens
Arugula microgreens germinate quickly and tolerate cold and hot temperatures well. This strain has a mix of "cut" and "strap" leaf shapes when grown as baby leaf. They perform well as a cut-and-come-again crop.
Benefits of Arugula
•Fast and easy to grow
•Nutritious super-food
•Easily digestible
•Spicy flavor
•Ready to eat in just 10 days
Basil Microgreens
Basil microgreens plants are strong producers of dark green, glossy leaves with a characteristic spoon shape, exceptionally tender texture and distinctive sweet flavor excellent in sauces and cooking.
Benefits of Basil
•Sweet flavor
•Ready to eat in 21 days
•Easily digestible
Micro Italian Basil aids in making classic food pairings(or drinks if you're feeling it) swanky. The mild and sweet characteristics of Micro Italian Basil are ideal for incorporating into sweeter applications. Micro Italian Basil pairs well with blueberry, strawberry, apricot, pineapple, nectarine, peach, watermelon, vanilla, lemon verbena, coconut, honey, ginger, cinnamon, white chocolate, and even fruity cocktails like mojitos, gimlets or martinis. The list goes on! Like most microgreens, Micro Italian Basil is intended for raw preparations, specifically as a garnish, as the delicate leaves will wilt if exposed to prolonged heat. They should be refrigerated in a sealed container and added only at the very final stage of finishing a dish.
These types of microgreens will definitely make your life so much better. Cheers to the sweeter things in life: health, happiness and prosperity to all.
Here's a recipe of a Thai Basil Daiquiri:
Ingredients
• 3-5 Thai Basil microgreens
• 4 ounces clean-tasting white rum (such as Flor de Caña)
• 1 and 1/2 ounces lime juice
• 1 and 1/4 ounces Simple Syrup (1 part sugar, 1 part water)
• Pinch of salt
Method
Put the Thai basil in a blender and add the rum. Make sure the leaves are covered in rum before you blend. Briefly blend the herbs and rum together.
Add the lime juice and simple syrup and pulse the blender to mix everything together.
Strain this mix through a fine strainer, then shake it with a generous amount of ice in a cocktail shaker.
Strain into two chilled coupe glasses, and enjoy.
Yield
2 cocktails
Courtesy of Dave Arnold at the James Beard Foundation