Victoria Cosford
The business name ‘Sprout Lovers’ could not be more apt: people really love these sprouts! ‘They’re illuminating!’ exclaims one young woman who’s approached the stall with a bevy of children as I stand chatting to Michael Rose. ‘My daughter’s face lights up as we walk up to the stall – they illuminate the soul!’
High praise indeed. Michael scoops out sprouts from their assorted containers, a blend he tips into organic cellophane bags, topping them off with activated almonds. I’m to witness at least half a dozen more customers purchasing the same thing in the 15-odd minutes I’m there, and each one appears, if not illuminated, exceedingly happy.
Sprout Lovers is the creation of Mullumbimby naturopath Ruth Hanrahan and, apart from the almonds, it’s all about sprouted legumes – adzuki beans, alfalfa, chickpeas and fenugreek, mung beans, radishes and lentils. ‘You’re eating something that’s alive, so you get maximum nutrition,’ Michael tells me. ‘Everything else you pick – a lettuce, for example – oxidises and loses its nutrients. Sprouts are an activated food, a radicalised food,’ he grins. ‘Very suitable for Mullumbimby!’
On the glorious Wilsons Creek property where Ruth lovingly tends them, only rainwater is used, which goes through seven filters and is tested every fortnight. ‘We’ve never failed a test in 17 years,’ Michael says. ‘Ruth,’ he continues, ‘is up at 4am every morning to ensure the sprouts are neither over-soaked nor over-rinsed. Ruth’s spot on with her timings!’
I ask if there’s a preferred sprout but Michael says that 98% of customers go for the mix. Another woman tells him, when he asks her what she likes to do with her sprouts, that they ‘rarely make it out of the bag’; yet another makes a point of thanking him for being there. I had no idea – clearly I, too, have been illuminated.
Sprout Lovers are at Mullumbimby Farmers Market every Friday 7-11am
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