Sprouting Rye Berries

To make Charlie Trotter’s vegan cashew cheese, you must first make something called rejuvelac, and to make rejuvelac, you must first sprout some rye berries by soaking them overnight, and then laying them on a little paper towel-lined platter and keeping them there for for a day or two or three and giving them a little bath three times a day, every day.

About a year ago, when I first read Charlie Trotter’s recipe for vegan cashew cheese in Raw, I felt enormous relief. At last, I thought, a recipe so difficult, so time-consuming, and so compulsive that even I will never be tempted to try it. Well, I hardly need to go on, do I? The rye-berries are sprouting on their little platter even as we speak.

This site has detailed rejuvelac instructions with pictures. You can also make gluten-free rejuvelac with rice or quinoa.

I don’t know yet what I will do with the cheese, but I have a feeling some of it might end up in some starship-shaped zucchini. Maybe I can make crackers with the leftover sprouts.