You find yourself at a nice restaurant and decide to order something new for a change. When the order finally comes to you, you happened to notice tiny green flecks garnishing your meal. They are clearly meant to be eaten since you find them spread out among your food. You have just stumbled upon micro greens. And yes, they are okay to eat!
What Are Micro Greens?
It should be noted before explaining that they are not tiny leaves, in fact, they have a stem with leaves, nor are they sprouts.
Microgreens are seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs, and come in several micro green varieties. Micro greens are, obviously, very small in nature, around 1 to 1.5 inches long, this includes the stem and leaves, and contrary to popular belief they have been enhancing meals around the world for about 20 or 30 years.
If you have heard the words and used, arugula, basil, beets, kale and cilantro, then you have heard of a few micro green varieties. And do not let their size fool you. These tiny seedlings can be packed with nutrition and flavor among all their micro green varieties that belies their size.
Should I Grow My Own Micro Greens?
Short answer? No. Growing and maintaining micro greens require meticulous attention. Basically all are temperature sensitive. Basil, for example, despises low temperatures and will turn dark brown or black by merely being exposed to temperatures 32 degrees Fahrenheit and lower for only a short while.
In general, until specified otherwise, micro greens require refrigeration in sealed containers between 38 and 40 degree Fahrenheit. In fact, many have considered 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4 degrees Celsius, is an ideal temperature for micro greens. Again, it depends on the micro green.
This can be daunting especially if you run a business that runs on selling micro greens. In fact, micro greens even have their own scale between one and five, one being poor and five being excellent. If you can’t reach at least three, they are not worth selling, and quite frankly, not worth eating.
The long list of micro green varieties just goes to show us that when you are walking through a garden, you never realize just how many common greens can be eaten. Like the 100 different common edible flowers that are palatable as well.
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