Popcorn shoots, the verdict :)

[Guest guest]

Hmmm... now this has been an eye-opener

Ease of growing: Hard to see the first stages of germinating root tip due to

their initial shape. Once they germinate, growth is quite rapid with changes in

root growth visible from the outset, and later, fast growth in shoot height.

Reached 'end point' i.e. as fully grown as the images on Sprout People at 7 to 8

days.

Visual appearance: Once roots started to grow, many of the popcorn kernels

produced a pink tinge and many roots became bright pink. Initial shoots appeared

like the shoots from a bulb. Fully grown shoots were a green fluted leaf on a

stem (some with pink tinged stems), with a further growing leaf curled inside.

Taste: Early growth stages when the growing leaf tips were just shoots with no

leaf visible - intensely sweet, with bitter overtones reminescent of saccharin.

The sweetness lingers in the mouth along with a mild corn taste and butteriness.

There is also a slight earthy taste very much like the taste and smell of

uncooked corn cobs still in their hairy outer husks. The texture is lush and

crunchy, and very soft. Later growth stages when leaves are formed: The leaves

have a grassy texture, a little rough. Starting to become chewy and fibrous.

Leaves have no real flavour of the shoots, rather, they are grassy tasting and

have bitter overtones like chicory. There is a mild sweetness following the

bitterness. Biting further down the stalk, there is flavour, as in the early

stage tasting, but this is neither as sweet nor as strong as the young leafless

shoots.

Tasting throughout growth, it is surprising that the sweetness always lingers in

the mouth for at least a minute after chewing, alongside a faint corn flavour.

Verdict: I prefer the shoots less mature, even though they are sweeter. They

have more flavour. I tried earlier shoots finely chopped in a salad of sprouts,

and they complimented the flavours. I would not wish to eat these shoots whole,

almost served as a vegetable in their own right as part of a dish, as they are

served at restaurants, but I will enjoy them mixed in with other shoots and

sprouts. They take the place of any sweet ingredient in a salad very well,

giving small and intense bursts of sweetness. The buttery corn flavour is lost

when mixed with other flavours.

It is an acquired taste and one I think grows on you; I may well enjoy eating

them whole in future.

Will I grow them again?: Yes! Their novelty in both flavour and looks is a

welcome addition to my diet. They will not be a staple crop but they will form

part of my overall diet!

Charlotte