Germination, or sprouting, begins with a whole and healthy seed. Raw seeds hold vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals in a dormant state to protect themselves until it can safely grow into a plant.
Unlike highly processed or refined grains, sprouting is a form of positive processing that removes nothing from nutrient-rich seeds and adds only water.
At Second Spring, we carefully source all of our organic grains and seeds to ensure they are the highest quality.
Just like in nature, a seed only germinates and thrives when it has the right moisture, oxygen and temperature. To kick-start the sprouting process, seeds are exposed to clean, fresh water.
While the process is always the same, each variety of grain or bean is unique, so soaking times will vary. Once seeds reach the ideal soaking time, we drain the water and sprouting begins.
Our sprouting process is specially designed to reduce the amount of water we use, giving you a sustainable product you can feel good about.
When optimal growing conditions are met, the seed bursts into action. Enzymes unlock nutrients that were safely stowed away, causing many biochemical changes and altering the seed’s nutrient profile.
Raw grains, seeds and beans naturally contain anti-nutrients like phytic acid, but soaking and sprouting helps to break these down. Also during this time, enzymes convert complex carbohydrates into simple sugars and dense protein into smaller amino acid chains. It’s important to note that a nutrition facts panel will not reflect these structural changes.
Vitamin and mineral changes also occur, but in varying degrees among different seed varieties and sprouting times. As a result, vitamin changes is a vast and complex topic (and even more complex is how this translates to human digestion). For more specific information, visit our resources page.
We stop the sprouting process at different times in order to maximize nutrition, digestion and function.
Next, seeds are carefully dried to preserve their sprouted goodness and make them self stable. The molecular changes that occur during sprouting remain present after the seed is dried.
A large sprout may not always be visible, but the important part is that raw grain undergoes a slow soaking and sprouting period. The sprouted grain, not the sprout itself, holds the nutrition.
Sprouted seeds can be left whole or finely milled to create one of our sprouted flours. We mill the entire grain to produce soft, versatile, nutrient-rich and 100% whole grain flours.
Second Spring sprouting and packaging facilities are owned and operated by our family business, Everspring Farms, which sprouts for industrial applications.
Our 75,000 sq ft facility is a dedicated gluten free, dairy free and nut free facility. All production involving wheat and other gluten seeds takes place in a separate facility to avoid cross contamination.
We are BRC Certified with an AA rating, Organic and Kosher certified for both facilities. We have a comprehensive food safety plan to ensure we go above and beyond to produce safe, high quality products.
