Soak pasturized almonds?

osoniye

OK, so I messed up and bought some supposedly raw almonds off the internet, only to find in the small print when they arrived that they are pasturized. Since that was kind of a big investment, I plan to use them anyway, and am just wondering if there is any point or need in soaking them. Also are you supposed to discard the soaking water before using raw nuts generally? Thanks for any help.

springleaf

The purpose of soaking nuts is to release the enzyme inhibitors that prevent them from germinating (growing) under unfavourable (ie a little but not enough water) conditions. As these inhibitors end up in the soak water you should definatly throw it away and then rinse the nuts. Almonds that have been pasturised are dead so cant grow, dont know if they release anything by being soaked though… Soaking nuts also makes them easier to blend up so even if your nuts are pasturised you may like to soak them for taste/texture reasons.

germin8

I agree with springleaf, but roasting nuts will ‘neutralize the inhibitor’... it will break down the inhibitor.

It is not necessary to soak roasted nuts (pasteurized). You would truly be soaking them instead of germinating.

BTW, enzyme inhibitors help nuts last through cold winters (unfavourable condition) too.

And yes, you can get unpasteurized almonds.

springleaf

Te He thats quite a coincidence, I wrote a reply http://debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com/2008/0… about freezing nuts/seeds and how it helps them last over the winter on this blog the other day.