Oh, All the Microgreens You'll Grow (And All The Ways You'll Use Them)
January 5, 2018
Microgreen Varieties
Basically, most vegetables and greens you love have their microgreen versions. Micro broccoli, micro basil, micro arugula, micro carrot – the list is virtually endless. Technically, almost any herb or green can be grown as a microgreen! In practice, many varieties are too spindly or weird-looking in their awkward childhood phase—ugly ducklings that won’t help a plate’s appeal. Many also simply don’t have much of a taste until they mature, putting them into dangerous non-functional garnish territory. And sometimes the seeds are just too expensive to grow en-masse.
When buying seeds to grow your own microgreens, you will probably encounter seed vendors (like Johnny’s!) selling special microgreen seeds. Initially, this is a little confusing – can’t you just plant regular broccoli seeds and just harvest them very young and plant them accordingly? The answer is yes – but microgreen specific seeds have been developed that way for a reason. Microgreen specific seeds will likely do better at becoming consistent microgreens – they are better at germinating quickly and growing uniformly. If you tried to grow a head of broccoli from your micro broccoli seeds, you might succeed, but you are likely to be disappointed. It’s the same vice versa, but experiment and see which seeds get you the look and flavor you’re going for!
How to Use Your Microgreens at Home
For the home cook, microgreens can be a fun and simple way to add a bit of color to your dishes and can help take your dinner party to the next level – especially if you grew them yourself! For extra dramatic presentation, cut the microgreens tableside - or put your microgreen tray in the middle of the table as an edible center piece and have guests harvest themselves.
Microgreens are a great addition to salad/grain bowls, and your morning oatmeal! Use microgreens in your smoothies and cocktails, or to top your salmon or cauliflower steak.
Check out our CEO Rob's Instagram for some #inspiration. Can you spot the micros?
Impressive, right? However, proceed with caution - if you find yourself casually dropping a random handful of micro amaranth onto a plate of overcooked steak and lumpy mashed potatoes, with the hope of somehow elevating it to a higher plane, STOP. Like chili oil or a touch of wasabi, micros are perfect in small doses and in the right places. Used to complement the flavor and composition of a delicate dish, they can be delightful, subtle, even exquisite. But sprinkled with abandon throughout a menu, they lose appeal. If we all use microgreens with abandon, they might soon be as uncool as the once-ubiquitous sprig of curly parsley.
And now, without further ado, some of our favorite Farm.One microgreens -
Micro Pea Petite Snap Greens - A mild garnish for many dishes, this micro pairs well with eggs or seafood. Micro-garnish peas have a subtle pea taste with tender leaves and stems.
Micro Anise Hyssop - Although this plant belongs to the mint family, it has a tangy anise aroma and taste with a deep violet color. The leaves and flowers can both be used as seasoning or as an ingredient in tea. It is native to North America's Great Plains, and was once used as a medicinal herb to promote healing and to reduce fevers.
Micro Mizuna Miz America - This micro-mustard green has a ruffled texture and mellow, horseradish taste. It’s near-uniform, deep purple color, and serrated leaf make them a adaptable garnish to always have nearby. They are well suited as a garnish in duck confit, grilled endive and chicory salad, or balsamic glazes.
Micro Cutting Celery - Snappy fresh celery flavor. Grown for its finely-textured, intricate green leaves with light green stems. Has a more herby and assertive flavor than stalk celery.
Micro Beets - Micro beets produce deep red stems and tender leaves, offering a highly decorative accent to almost any dish. Micro beets produce a strong beet-like flavor, with the subtle earthiness and strong sweetness commonly found in the fully mature beet vegetable. This handy micro holds up to bold desserts and makes a noteworthy garnish to contrast against savory flavors.
Micro Tarragon - This plant is an elegant micro herb cherished for its sweet aroma and undertones of pine, anise, and licorice. It imparts deep flavor into goat or feta cheese, marinades, fritters, and adds a strong herbal fragrance to the essential béarnaise sauce.
Micro Chervil - A delicate annual herb related to parsley, it is commonly used to season mild-flavored dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbs. Lighter than parsley, it has a slight taste of anise. Unlike the more pungent robust herbs, fines herbs are added to dishes at the last minute. This micro chervil has delicate and feathery leaves with a cleaner anise taste.
Micro Mustard Greens - Micro-mustard green is a spicy variety with a horseradish taste. The taste begins mild but grows spicier as you get the full flavor of the green. Using this micro as a substitute for mustard is always a great choice.
Thank you to Dan Bernstein for co-authorship of this article!
Oh, All the Microgreens You'll Grow (And All The Ways You'll Use Them)
Misha Hermanova
January 5, 2018
Microgreen Varieties
Basically, most vegetables and greens you love have their microgreen versions. Micro broccoli, micro basil, micro arugula, micro carrot – the list is virtually endless. Technically, almost any herb or green can be grown as a microgreen! In practice, many varieties are too spindly or weird-looking in their awkward childhood phase—ugly ducklings that won’t help a plate’s appeal. Many also simply don’t have much of a taste until they mature, putting them into dangerous non-functional garnish territory. And sometimes the seeds are just too expensive to grow en-masse.
When buying seeds to grow your own microgreens, you will probably encounter seed vendors (like Johnny’s!) selling special microgreen seeds. Initially, this is a little confusing – can’t you just plant regular broccoli seeds and just harvest them very young and plant them accordingly? The answer is yes – but microgreen specific seeds have been developed that way for a reason. Microgreen specific seeds will likely do better at becoming consistent microgreens – they are better at germinating quickly and growing uniformly. If you tried to grow a head of broccoli from your micro broccoli seeds, you might succeed, but you are likely to be disappointed. It’s the same vice versa, but experiment and see which seeds get you the look and flavor you’re going for!
How to Use Your Microgreens at Home
For the home cook, microgreens can be a fun and simple way to add a bit of color to your dishes and can help take your dinner party to the next level – especially if you grew them yourself! For extra dramatic presentation, cut the microgreens tableside - or put your microgreen tray in the middle of the table as an edible center piece and have guests harvest themselves.
Microgreens are a great addition to salad/grain bowls, and your morning oatmeal! Use microgreens in your smoothies and cocktails, or to top your salmon or cauliflower steak.
Check out our CEO Rob's Instagram for some #inspiration. Can you spot the micros?
Impressive, right? However, proceed with caution - if you find yourself casually dropping a random handful of micro amaranth onto a plate of overcooked steak and lumpy mashed potatoes, with the hope of somehow elevating it to a higher plane, STOP. Like chili oil or a touch of wasabi, micros are perfect in small doses and in the right places. Used to complement the flavor and composition of a delicate dish, they can be delightful, subtle, even exquisite. But sprinkled with abandon throughout a menu, they lose appeal. If we all use microgreens with abandon, they might soon be as uncool as the once-ubiquitous sprig of curly parsley.
And now, without further ado, some of our favorite Farm.One microgreens -
Micro Pea Petite Snap Greens - A mild garnish for many dishes, this micro pairs well with eggs or seafood. Micro-garnish peas have a subtle pea taste with tender leaves and stems.
Micro Anise Hyssop - Although this plant belongs to the mint family, it has a tangy anise aroma and taste with a deep violet color. The leaves and flowers can both be used as seasoning or as an ingredient in tea. It is native to North America's Great Plains, and was once used as a medicinal herb to promote healing and to reduce fevers.
Micro Mizuna Miz America - This micro-mustard green has a ruffled texture and mellow, horseradish taste. It’s near-uniform, deep purple color, and serrated leaf make them a adaptable garnish to always have nearby. They are well suited as a garnish in duck confit, grilled endive and chicory salad, or balsamic glazes.
Micro Cutting Celery - Snappy fresh celery flavor. Grown for its finely-textured, intricate green leaves with light green stems. Has a more herby and assertive flavor than stalk celery.
Micro Beets - Micro beets produce deep red stems and tender leaves, offering a highly decorative accent to almost any dish. Micro beets produce a strong beet-like flavor, with the subtle earthiness and strong sweetness commonly found in the fully mature beet vegetable. This handy micro holds up to bold desserts and makes a noteworthy garnish to contrast against savory flavors.
Micro Tarragon - This plant is an elegant micro herb cherished for its sweet aroma and undertones of pine, anise, and licorice. It imparts deep flavor into goat or feta cheese, marinades, fritters, and adds a strong herbal fragrance to the essential béarnaise sauce.
Micro Chervil - A delicate annual herb related to parsley, it is commonly used to season mild-flavored dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbs. Lighter than parsley, it has a slight taste of anise. Unlike the more pungent robust herbs, fines herbs are added to dishes at the last minute. This micro chervil has delicate and feathery leaves with a cleaner anise taste.
Micro Mustard Greens - Micro-mustard green is a spicy variety with a horseradish taste. The taste begins mild but grows spicier as you get the full flavor of the green. Using this micro as a substitute for mustard is always a great choice.
Thank you to Dan Bernstein for co-authorship of this article!
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Oh, All the Microgreens You'll Grow (And All The Ways You'll Use Them)
Misha Hermanova
Misha Hermanova
January 5, 2018
Microgreen Varieties
Basically, most vegetables and greens you love have their microgreen versions. Micro broccoli, micro basil, micro arugula, micro carrot – the list is virtually endless. Technically, almost any herb or green can be grown as a microgreen! In practice, many varieties are too spindly or weird-looking in their awkward childhood phase—ugly ducklings that won’t help a plate’s appeal. Many also simply don’t have much of a taste until they mature, putting them into dangerous non-functional garnish territory. And sometimes the seeds are just too expensive to grow en-masse.
When buying seeds to grow your own microgreens, you will probably encounter seed vendors (like Johnny’s!) selling special microgreen seeds. Initially, this is a little confusing – can’t you just plant regular broccoli seeds and just harvest them very young and plant them accordingly? The answer is yes – but microgreen specific seeds have been developed that way for a reason. Microgreen specific seeds will likely do better at becoming consistent microgreens – they are better at germinating quickly and growing uniformly. If you tried to grow a head of broccoli from your micro broccoli seeds, you might succeed, but you are likely to be disappointed. It’s the same vice versa, but experiment and see which seeds get you the look and flavor you’re going for!
How to Use Your Microgreens at Home
For the home cook, microgreens can be a fun and simple way to add a bit of color to your dishes and can help take your dinner party to the next level – especially if you grew them yourself! For extra dramatic presentation, cut the microgreens tableside - or put your microgreen tray in the middle of the table as an edible center piece and have guests harvest themselves.
Microgreens are a great addition to salad/grain bowls, and your morning oatmeal! Use microgreens in your smoothies and cocktails, or to top your salmon or cauliflower steak.
Check out our CEO Rob's Instagram for some #inspiration. Can you spot the micros?
Impressive, right? However, proceed with caution - if you find yourself casually dropping a random handful of micro amaranth onto a plate of overcooked steak and lumpy mashed potatoes, with the hope of somehow elevating it to a higher plane, STOP. Like chili oil or a touch of wasabi, micros are perfect in small doses and in the right places. Used to complement the flavor and composition of a delicate dish, they can be delightful, subtle, even exquisite. But sprinkled with abandon throughout a menu, they lose appeal. If we all use microgreens with abandon, they might soon be as uncool as the once-ubiquitous sprig of curly parsley.
And now, without further ado, some of our favorite Farm.One microgreens -
Micro Pea Petite Snap Greens - A mild garnish for many dishes, this micro pairs well with eggs or seafood. Micro-garnish peas have a subtle pea taste with tender leaves and stems.
Micro Anise Hyssop - Although this plant belongs to the mint family, it has a tangy anise aroma and taste with a deep violet color. The leaves and flowers can both be used as seasoning or as an ingredient in tea. It is native to North America's Great Plains, and was once used as a medicinal herb to promote healing and to reduce fevers.
Micro Mizuna Miz America - This micro-mustard green has a ruffled texture and mellow, horseradish taste. It’s near-uniform, deep purple color, and serrated leaf make them a adaptable garnish to always have nearby. They are well suited as a garnish in duck confit, grilled endive and chicory salad, or balsamic glazes.
Micro Cutting Celery - Snappy fresh celery flavor. Grown for its finely-textured, intricate green leaves with light green stems. Has a more herby and assertive flavor than stalk celery.
Micro Beets - Micro beets produce deep red stems and tender leaves, offering a highly decorative accent to almost any dish. Micro beets produce a strong beet-like flavor, with the subtle earthiness and strong sweetness commonly found in the fully mature beet vegetable. This handy micro holds up to bold desserts and makes a noteworthy garnish to contrast against savory flavors.
Micro Tarragon - This plant is an elegant micro herb cherished for its sweet aroma and undertones of pine, anise, and licorice. It imparts deep flavor into goat or feta cheese, marinades, fritters, and adds a strong herbal fragrance to the essential béarnaise sauce.
Micro Chervil - A delicate annual herb related to parsley, it is commonly used to season mild-flavored dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbs. Lighter than parsley, it has a slight taste of anise. Unlike the more pungent robust herbs, fines herbs are added to dishes at the last minute. This micro chervil has delicate and feathery leaves with a cleaner anise taste.
Micro Mustard Greens - Micro-mustard green is a spicy variety with a horseradish taste. The taste begins mild but grows spicier as you get the full flavor of the green. Using this micro as a substitute for mustard is always a great choice.
Thank you to Dan Bernstein for co-authorship of this article!
