> >    From:    Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]>
> >
> >    ...Some beans, such as
> >    lentils, can be made edible by soaking, which involves
> >    essentially the same low-level technology, i.e., an animal
> >    bladder to hold water and the stuff being sprouted or soaked.
>
Actually, the process of soaking and sprouting lentils is technologically
complex and of relatively recent vintage.  What you describe would result in
a "soup" of potentially deadly pathogens.  The USDA is currently
contemplating new regulations on bean sprouts because of the dangers
inherent in this process even under modern sterile conditions.

Bean sprouts in water results in a mixture similar to agar(made from
seaweed) which is used to culture bacteria, mold and protozoa.  As in agar
cultures, these pathogens grow at a fantastic rate in sprouted beans.  If
this process is continued until the culture is killed by it's own excrement,
it is said to be fermented.  Fermentation is a highly technical process
perhaps only fully understood since the work of Louis Pasteur.  Even the
fermented bean sprouts (tofu, etc.) are still high in phytates (plant
poisons) and can cause problems in humans.

Ray Audette
Author "NeanderThin"