Everything you need to know about microgreens

Once upon a time, microgreens were just the little garnishes chefs placed on top of their dishes. In fact, only rocket, basil, beets, kale and cilantro existed – now, more than 25 varieties of microgreens exist, and they’ve been promoted from a garnish to the main dish!

WHAT ARE THEY

Essentially, microgreens are young vegetables that have been harvested between 10 and 14 days after seeding. They differ from both sprouts and baby greens, harvested without the roots just shortly after their first leaves appear.

They are also incredibly colourful, which is why they’ve been used as garnishes since the ‘80s.

OVERSIZED NUTRITION IN MICRO FORM

Other than their fun size, microgreens are overflowing with nutrients and vitamins such as:

• Vitamin C – to boost and support immune function
• Vitamin K – to support the heart, respiratory system, blood structure and bone density
• Vitamin A – to support cell growth and immune function
• Glucobrassicin – contains anti-cancer properties

For example, where mature red cabbage has 24.3mg per 100g of Vitamin C, micro red cabbage as 147mg per 100g – this is a 6:1 ratio on your daily vitamin C intake, not to mention the huge increase in vitamin K (70:1) and vitamin A (260:1) and the delicious flavour.

Learn more about the health benefits of microgreens.

THE DELICIOUS AND UNIQUE FLAVOURS MAKE UP FOR THE SIZE

It’s easy to look at microgreens and dismiss them for having a lack of flavour versus the mature vegetable counterparts. But microgreens are extremely rich in flavour and can deepen the complexity in your cooking – all while supporting your health.

NO RELIANCE ON OUTDOOR CONDITIONS

Taking a max of two weeks to ‘mature’, microgreens are grown quite quickly – an excellent alternative to fully matured vegetables. Microgreens are also grown indoors all year round in our facility, eliminating any risk from outdoor conditions, to ensure that microgreens are always fresh and available.

A BIG (GREEN) THUMBS UP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT… AND YOUR HEALTH

At April Sun, our microgreens and herbs are cultured in a commercial-sized vertical farm to provide high quality produce to Melbournians 365 days a year. This means we utilise 95% less water than traditional farming methods, and our microgreens are free from harmful chemicals, pesticides and herbicides so you can trust what you’re eating is great for your health and the environment.

So why not make the micro change to microgreens today? Explore our full range of produce.