What are microgreens? And how they differ from sprouts or mature greens

Unlike a typical crop that’s grown in a field over months, we sow seeds in trays of soil in our controlled environment grow room year-round, and we harvest weekly. Instead of eating the mature crops, when you consume microgreens, you’re eating the seedlings.

This is different from sprouts: when we harvest, we cut above the soil. With sprouts, you eat everything—the root, the seed, and the sprout itself. If we left our produce to grow a bit longer, we’d be in baby or mature greens territory. Keep reading to find out why some people choose microgreens over sprouts, baby, and mature veggies.

The products we offer include aesthetics that range from run-of-the-mill clover—most of our true microgreens—to bright-colored shoots and whimsical pea tendrils. The variety of colors and leaf shapes offers the culinary world a way to add a wow factor to plated presentations that might be difficult to accomplish without beautiful flowers or brightly colored leaves.

Some of these premium products also stretch what would be a typical microgreen production schedule. For example, our Mizuna Mustard would look a lot like clover if we harvested it on the same schedule as broccoli, but our chefs love the fluffy full look of it when we hold off on harvesting for another week. So technically it’s not a microgreen, because the true leaves have begun to grow. But we aim to please, so we add a bit more time to the grow cycle. Many of our premium microgreens are similar—they’ve got custom schedules that may take longer than true microgreens.

Our second audience, the health-conscious crowd, is likely more interested in nutrient density than aesthetics. If that’s you, keep reading!

When we say “on average,” it’s because we ran a full mineral screening and found that some minerals were more or less concentrated than others. How many times more nutrient dense microgreens are compared to the mature crop depends on the particular nutrient you’re interested in.

For breakfast, minced pea shoots scrambled into eggs is a favorite of ours. Cilantro would be great in a southwestern omelette too. You can also blend them into a smoothie if you’d rather skip the eggs. Again, pea shoots go great with something sweet like apples.

For lunch, think of microgreens as a replacement for iceberg lettuce on a sandwich or in a wrap. Just remember, they’re so nutrient dense that you don’t really need much—maybe a few sprigs or a small handful. Which greens should you choose? Well, what flavors do you like? Mustard has an awesome kind of bitey flavor, while broccoli is a lot more earthy. Or maybe add some cantaloupe shoots to a fruit salad.

For dinner, keep in mind that microgreens are delicate, so it’s best to add them last whether they’re a garnish or an actual side. The sky is the limit!

Don’t wait to dip your toes in the water—just grab a clamshell and jump in. We think you’ll be glad you did!

Let us know what you did with your first clamshell of micros in the comments below!