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Soaking nuts and seeds

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  • Hi everyone -

    I am new here and am enjoying the great discussions on this board!

    Regarding freezing nuts, most certified organic nuts have been frozen during processing to kill bugs.

    I always soak all nuts and seeds before eating, even flax. Flax will sprout after soaking for 8 – 12 hours and sprouting for a couple of days. When sprouting the flax, I put them in a strainer rinse the goo a few times a day and let it drain into a bowl. They will sprout little tails in a couple of days.

  • k8lyn07… thanks for your story! I have been searching for more data on the nut thing! I got sick recently from sesame milk in the fridge. It sounds like keeping sprouted nuts after processing them is playing with fire even though the books say they last a few days in the fridge. Over the years i have only been sick from the occasional nut comlication and i’ve havn’t narowed down the cause until now. I will only store germinated seeds in the fridge before blending/ processing from now on. Storing raw, unsprouted nuts and seeds in the freezer is the ideal method. Also seeds may be germinated in the fridge.

    btw, Peanuts are not nuts (nor decent food), and cashews are not raw so they won’t germanate anyway.

  • So with regards to soaking nuts- a couple questions:

    I dont have a dehydrator- and I keep getting opposing feedback whether or not to purchase one- but how does one efficiently dry the soaked nuts and seeds w/o them going rancid? It seems sunflower seeds spoil so quickly after..

    As for storing the soaked nuts in water in the refrigerator after- doesnt that deplete the nutrients and cause the nuts and seeds to loose flavor?

    Most raw food recipes I see with nuts specify to use unsoaked nuts- should we be avoiding those?

  • does anyone have a recipe using sprouted quinoa or sprouted lentils? i sprouted both of them and now.. well, i just don’t find them that appetizing on their own.

  • Sprouted lentils you can just put in a salad. Sprouted quinoa, I am not sure. I made it once, but didn’t like it that much.

  • Oh, I love sprouted quinoa! I use to put it in a salad with lemon juice, parsley, garlic, ginger, tomato, bell peppers, cucumber, celery and olive oil – sort of like a Tabouleh. I also like to have it with diced apple, dates, pumpkin seeds and some sort of nut milk. Usualy I just let them sprout for one day.

  • coconuttycoconutty Raw Newbie

    In need of some clarification here…

    So according to what I’ve heard from numerous people, most “raw” nuts sold in the stores have been heat treated or pasturized at some point along the line so they are not technically raw… Should these nuts still be soaked before using? If whatever heat treatment takes away the “rawness”, are the enzyme inhibitors still fully functional???

    And out of curiosity… What does roasting do to them? I know they’re considered dead, but again, what about those enzyme inhibitors, how does roasting effect that? Eh, just somethin that popped into my head!

  • Thanks for the tip Zoe! I like that one. I have sprouted a bunch of beans and seeds lately. I really like the fact that you can eat them after only one night of soaking- for certain ones like quinoa and mung beans and after 18 hours for other ones like black lentils and garbanzo beans. For some reason I always thought you have to wait for them to become little plants. I haven’t been as successful with sunflower seeds. Sure if I eat them after 24 hours or even 48 they are good for burgers or crackers but I would like to see those get bigger to an inch long or more.

    I don't have a sprouter and may have to get one but has anyone had luck with sunflower seeds with an easy method?

    I have sprouted fenugreek seeds for a couple days now and they have done really well. They are also supposed to be an aphrodesiac if anyone is interested in trying them out. =)

  • “cashews are not raw so they won

  • Umm… I’ve been thinking about this more. Those “really raw” cashews that I bought? They were from eatraw.com … and technically, they are cashew PIECES. So, I realized – they probably won’t germinate anyways if they’re not whole. So, even though they are RAW, they can’t really be considered LIVING. Would you all agree with me there? (I’m a little frustrated as I bought 22 lbs!) So, from what I understand now, soaking these pieces has no effect, as they won’t germinate in this state.

  • you’re going to chew them anyways and break them up into pieces so I wouldn’t worry about it.

  • where do people buy raw macadamia nuts?

  • Nagev – I’m not concerned about them being in pieces before they hit my mouth. I’m concerned about them being in pieces before I get a chance to germinate them. If they are broken or chopped into pieces while still in the dormant state, that’s less desirable than soaking/germinating them. But I think that they won’t germinate if broken. Seems to me that they just start to rot (and smell yeasty! weird!) if I soak them. Am I understanding this correctly? Anybody with a biology degree with a specialty in nuts? :)

    redhouse – I haven’t heard specifically that macadamia nuts aren’t truly raw. So I’ve been buying mine at Whole Foods.

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    I’ve been soaking almonds for days (changing the water thrice daily) and after a few days you get a cute little tail and then they start cleaving! Even the pieces that are BROKEN behave in the exact same way, so I assume broken nuts are viable.

  • I just got off the phone with Seth from Living Nutz (www.livingnutz.com) – I had a question for him about some unpasteurized almonds I’d purchased there. While I had him on the phone though, I asked him about cashew halves & pieces like that – and he said that definitely, there was still benefit to soaking them! He thought that cashews would not germinate without the shell, but that soaking the pieces would still remove the enzyme inhibitors & stuff. For some reason, I was having a difficult time understanding this whole thing, but I think I’ve got it now. :) Yay!

  • Do you still have to soak if the nuts are not raw (as in dry roasted, etc.?) My sister has been making nut butters a lot but she does not use raw nuts. I figure it is a moot point if they are not raw anyway, or does it still mater.
    Marcy

  • Oooh, good question. I don’t know!

  • Hello Everyone, i am new to the raw food world and i was wondering how long i soak and dehydrate nuts for? I have cashews, pecans, almonds, pine, and macadamia nuts. Please help…..Also i read in my raw cookbook that the floaters are supposed to be rancid, but in the lighter nuts it seems like they all float, is that normal or did i let them sit around too long??? Thank you for imput and advice. mona

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Monale – I think that floaters are rancid. Be careful not to soak nuts too long, as they will go bad. Soaking times vary, but in general:

    Almonds – soak 12 hours

    Pecans – soak 1 to 2 hours

    Walnuts – soak 1 to 2 hours

    Macadamia, pine, and pistachios – do not soak

    Hulled pupkin seeds – 4 hours

    Hulled sunflower seeds – 4 hours

    Sesame seeds – 4 hours

    Flax seeds – 8 hours (creates a slimy consistency)

    Hemp seeds – do not soak

    Cashews – 1-4 hours

  • This is a great post and I have actually learned a lot form this one! Thanks forposting Kandace, and thanks for all your smarts guys! LOL

  • achin70achin70 Raw Newbie

    Some of the nuts I soak float as well. Pecans always seem to float. I bought some super small almonds, and they float as well. However, sometimes floaters are indeed rancid! :)

  • Just found this thread and site over the weekend – so helpful! Yet another question about floaters/sinkers. What about hazelnuts? Do they sink if fresh and float if rancid? I haven’t seen reference for how long to soak them either, so allowed 12 hours. Actually over that now because virtually all are floating and not sure if they’re useable. Any insight? Thanks much!

    ETA: I just saw this link on another thread and go ahead with this batch. “It

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