Microgreens can save the planet. Will people eat them? by Matt Cortina

IMAGES OF THE MICROGREENS species evaluated in the CSU study: arugula (A), broccoli (B), bull’s blood beet (C), red cabbage (D), red garnet amaranth (E), and tendril pea (F).

As savvy diners, you’ve likely come across the term “microgreens” on restaurant menus from takeout sandwich places to fine dining establishments. But a new study from Colorado State’s Department of Food Science and Nutrition found that we are just at the beginning stage of understanding the nutrient-packed food source with a low carbon footprint that could revolutionize the food scene for years to come.

First, a definition: microgreens refer to the young, leafy greens that grow atop vegetables, grains, herbs and flowers early in their life spans. They grow quickly and can be harvested quickly, require little moisture (as opposed to that other young superfood, sprouts), and they have higher concentrations of phytochemicals and nutrients like beta-carotene, which can be converted to vitamin A.

But these microgreens also carry big flavor that hits all areas of the palate, and so CSU wanted to do a taste test with a range of microgreens to see what consumers gravitated toward, and maybe more importantly, what they didn’t.

The results were hopeful. Participants appreciated the bright reddish color of beet, cabbage and amaranth microgreens, and the flavor of broccoli, red cabbage and tendril pea greens. Arugula, somewhat surprisingly, got the lowest marks due to its spicy flavor profile.

“But they were all liked well enough that people said they would consume them and purchase them,” says Sarah Ardanuy Johnson, lead researcher and director of CSU’s Functional Foods & Human Health Laboratory. “I feel like they should be used more as a vegetable and not just a garnish. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to do this study.”

Johnson hopes exposing more people to microgreens will help create a market for them, and that based on consumer research, people are willing to purchase new types of foods if it benefits their health and the environment. Additional key factors in food purchases, the study underscored, are familiarity with the food, cost, access to it and freshness.

The hope is that microgreen farms can sprout up in safe, controlled, environmentally friendly growhouses in both rural and urban areas. My own two cents: If people could quickly develop a taste for kombucha, kale and pea milk, microgreens should be no problem. IMAGES OF THE MICROGREENS species evaluated in the CSU study: arugula (A), broccoli (B), bull’s blood beet (C), red cabbage (D), red garnet amaranth (E), and tendril pea (F).