To Soak or Not To Soak

[heather]

i purchased raw pumpkin seeds. do i need to soak them?? i ate some yesterday and they didnt bother my tummy. still soak?

[levamssg]

I don't soak my 'snacking' nuts because I simply don't like the texture of them after they are soaked. So far, I've not had any problems eating them. The only time I soak nuts is when it is called for in a specific recipe.

[eluj]

What about oats? I soaked them and I didn't like the texture. I usually have eaten them raw, with raw milk and raw (unsoaked) almond slivers, flax seed (also unsoaked) and diced fruit. Should I soak all of these things?

Thanks, Julie

[Juan, Judy & Alex]

Julie,

Your cereal combo is just fine. Soaking comes in play when using in a recipe that requires soft seeds, nuts etc.. Our son loves the oats soaked with added "goodies".

[rawpriestess]

Hi,

Soaking nuts and seeds has nothing to do with the texture in a recipe.

If you soak nuts, you can then dehydrate them to make them more paletable.

You MUST soak all nuts (except soft hard shelled nuts like walnuts or pinenuts) and this is why.

Nuts are made to be outside, they fall to the ground, then are either eaten by birds, or whomever, or they are made to sprout.

Nature has this all figured out, if the shell of the nut is soft, which means that we can easily get into it to eat it, it can also get wet and start to sprout easily too, so it has enzyme inhibitors to keep it from sprouting until it has been saturated for a long period of time, like one or two days, hence why you need to soak almonds 24 to 48 hours before they will begin to sprout.

However, if the shell of the nut is hard, like a walnut, then it is much more difficult for water to get into the actual nut, there for it has less enzyme inhibitors and will sprout much easier.

It isn't that you CAN'T eat a nut without sprouting, it is that it isn't good for you, because you are eatin enzym inhibitors, and that is what eating raw food is all about, eating enzymes. You DON"T want the inhibitors in your system.

The only way to get rid of enzyme inhibitors is to to soak the nuts or seeds for a specified amount of time, this is for grains also.

Also, nuts, seeds, and grains that are unsoaked, have about 1/2 to 1/10 the amino acids, and nutrients of soaked nuts, seeds, and grains, as when they start to sprout, they are litterally bursting with nutrition to help them grow.

The reason you get a tummy ache when you eat unsprouted or unsoaked nuts is the enzyme inhibitors will react with your digestive juices to form acids, and we don't want acids, we want to be alkaline.

So, if you don't like the texture of soaked nuts or seeds, simply soak them, then dehydrate them, this is what I do, and they are so good and crunchy this way.

blessings,
Rawpriestess

[Sunny]

I love pistacchios, I've a sure source so they're raw, I haven't soaked them, have I make a mistake?

[caramba]

Thanks for a great explanation Rawpriestess. I soak all "hard" nuts ie not cashews, pinenuts or walnuts.

[Penni]

Noone mentioned how long to soak any of them though???

Penni

[rawibo]

I would like to challange everybody (lay people/experts etc) on the soaking/unsoaked nut topic.

Unsoaked nuts taste better, are sweeter. If nuts are soaked they don't taste good, neither is the texture preferable for me.
When I soak an almond the sweetness of the almond goes into the water.
Nature does not dry the nut after soaking......... Raw Foodists with the enzyme inhibitor theory have a dehydrator.
What happens to the whole food theory when soaking nuts. What properties does the nut loose when under water?? Good things??

Yes nuts are commercially dried after harvesting, they have more moisture content on the tree. We dry them to keep them longer lasting..... correct.

But we are humans, maybe we can do a few extra things to keep food longer lasting. Native people learned how to keep food longer lasting for winter times, such as smoking, drying etc.

To grow a tree the nut has to be under the soil with enough water. Yes that's right....But maybe that's just for growing purposes.

Almonds have lots of vitamin and nutrients. I compare this to a glass full of water up to the edge of the glass. When you soak nuts, yes the nutrients content increases, so "the water spills over the edges of the glass". But my glass was full anyway..... Does anyone get the point....?!

Now it's you guys turn....................... Speak it out...........and have fun doing so....

[Sweet lips]

I don't think it is necessary to challenge one another; As in all things there is two sides and that is how we try to operate here. Additionally those are your comments based on your taste and you have the right to express it. Someone will benefit from your choices as will other benefit from the other side. Challenge naw - it just ain't necessary.