Wheat sprout

Wheat sprout (Persian: جوانه‌ گندم) is a product of germinating wheat seeds in a wet and relatively warm environment in a process called sprouting. It is commonly known and used in Iranian plateau. However, it is sometimes used instead of barley in the form of malt (early stage sprout) for making beer.

It is used in numerous Persian pastries, dishes, and desserts. Also, it has been used traditionally in the new year's Haft-Seen table decoration in the form of Sabzeh (wheat grass) and a delicious dessert called Samanu as the symbols of blessing from Ahura-Mazda.^[1] This custom has been observed by most of the people on Iranian Plateau and some of the populations in beyond (e.g. some parts of India, Yemen, Lebanon, Russia, and China) for thousands of years maybe as old as emerging of Zoroaster.

One of the confections called Sohan is made up of mainly wheat sprout flour. It is a traditional Persian saffron brittle toffee and made in the holy city of Qom.

A fine powder of the dried sprout is widely used in Iran and a few other countries as a skin care product (e.g. facial masks) which is not yet approved by the scholar resources.

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