Microgreen variety guide
Sweet and crisp
Sweet pea & Tendril pea
From the same plant as the snow pea, harvested very young.
The flavour is fresh garden pea, only sweeter. The stems are thick and very crisp, which matters more than it sounds: unlike most shoots, tendril pea does not collapse against hot meat or sauce. The safest choice on the list.
Sunflower
Thick stem, broad leaf, and a pronounced fresh hazelnut flavour.
Crisp and fleshy, with enough bite to carry a salad or fill a sandwich rather than just decorate one.
Melon (Cantaloupe)
Grown from cantaloupe seed and cut young.
Sweet, juicy and lightly floral, it eats like fruit. It works best where nobody expects it: a fresh cheese board, or a dessert.
Broccoli
Very mild, close to fresh cabbage, with a clean crunch.
The most familiar and most forgiving microgreen. Excellent raw in salads and grain bowls, or scattered over an Asian dish at the pass.
Herbal and aromatic
Basils (Genovese, Purple, Thai)
Three distinct flavours, not just three colours.
Genovese: the classic Italian basil, direct and summery. Purple: more complex, lightly floral and peppery, with a deep colour that reads beautifully on the plate. Thai: pronounced anise and liquorice notes that change the identity of a dish.
Cilantro
Cilantro at its most concentrated.
The cotyledons, its first leaves, release an intense aroma. Use it sparingly or it will flatten everything around it.
Lemon balm
Bright lemon aroma without the acidity of the juice.
It shines behind the bar, on delicate fish, and in pastry, because it holds up well against sugar.
Shiso
A complex, fascinating profile of mint, basil, clove and citrus.
A staple of Asian cooking that no other herb can stand in for.
Shungiku (edible chrysanthemum)
Herbal and slightly bitter, with subtle carrot notes.
Its serrated leaves hold their structure even when laid on a hot dish.
Celery
The taste of celery stalk, more concentrated and greener.
Fine stem, cut leaf, and a light bitterness that wakes up a broth or a potato salad. It holds well in a warm dish.
Garlic chives
Garlic without the aggression.
A round, straight stem and a clean fresh-garlic aroma that fades rather than lingers. It finishes a purée, an egg or a white fish without masking anything.
Pungent and peppery
Yellow mustard & Red mizuna
A volatile heat that rises to the nose, closer to horseradish or wasabi.
Yellow mustard: the sharper and more forceful of the two. Red mizuna: more restrained, with a purple stem that brings colour and bite together.
Radish (mixed)
Highly visual, with pink, red and white stems.
The heat is sharp, direct and immediate. It is the right partner for cutting through charcuterie, pork or a rich cheese.
Arugula
Peppery and toasted-hazelnut, with a clean edge of bitterness, far more concentrated than the mature leaf.
Curled cress
The most subtle of this group.
A light, elegant heat and a very delicate texture from the finely cut leaves. It lifts a dish without taking it over.
Nasturtium
Nicknamed wild pepper, it sits between cress and mustard and is unmistakable for its round lily-pad leaves.
Colour and acidity
Amaranth (colour)
A deep, electric magenta.
The flavour is very mild and slightly earthy, close to beet. That is the point: it brings dramatic colour without altering your recipe, and it keeps that colour under heat.
Red cabbage (colour)
Vivid purple stems, green leaves, clean crunch.
Mild fresh-cabbage flavour. Fleshy and robust, it holds perfectly under a heat lamp before service.
Blood sorrel (acidity)
A striking green leaf veined in blood red.
The only shoot in the range with real acidity. Bright and lemony, it works as a seasoning to balance a rich dish or a fish, and it will stand in for a lemon wedge.
Beet (colour)
Dark red stems, green leaves veined with purple.
Earthy and mild, lighter than the root. It adds depth to a plate where amaranth would only add colour.
The Redfrog Lab promise: ultra-local freshness
A microgreen does not just have a shelf life, it has a countdown. From the moment it is cut, the stem loses its hold, the colour fades and the leaf loses its crunch.
A microgreen trucked in from Ontario or flown in from California still arrives green, but it has already lost half its useful window. Our microgreens are grown and cut in Montreal, then delivered the very next day.
You get the full window, not what is left of it after transport.
Grown and cut in Montreal, delivered the next day.
Available year-round thanks to controlled-environment growing.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Although both come from young seeds, the way they are grown and their profile differ:
- A sprout grows in water alone (often in the dark) and is eaten whole, root included.
- A microgreen is grown on a substrate under light, then cut above the soil. That process gives it a more developed flavour and a firmer texture.
To start, the safe bet is Tendril pea. It gives a very graphic look, a pronounced crunch and a mild fresh-garden-pea flavour that everyone likes.
If you are after character, go for Mustard or Nasturtium.
Most microgreens are added at plating, off the heat. That said, sunflower and pea can take very brief cooking. Amaranth, for its part, keeps its magenta colour even when exposed to heat.
Yes. Thanks to our indoor controlled-environment growing in Montreal, we guarantee constant availability of all 25 varieties, with no seasonal constraints.
Restaurants
Volumes built for the pace of a professional kitchen.
- 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 tray depending on the variety, cut or as a living tray
- More weight per order
Retailers & grocers
Retail formats ready for your shelves.
- 30 g, 50 g, 65 g or 150 g formats depending on the variety
- 5 x 4 living unit for displays
- Signature blends: Mix Éclipse and Mix Solstice
Home cooks
Order online direct, delivered to a pickup point.
- Fresh microgreen packs, order online
- Partner pickup points across Montreal
- Order before Wednesday 12 p.m.