soaking garbonzo beans / chickpeas

[ashabean]

Yesterday afternoon I decided I would make raw falafals for dinner tonight, so I set the chickpeas soaking, but now over 24 hours later, they still seem a little hard.

Does anyone know how long they need for cold soaking?
I don't want to give hubby and I food posioning!!!!

thanks
Ash

[askcassyfirst]

You should (perhaps need) to soak AND sprout them. Beans are high in phytic acid, which is very hard to digest, and really is a toxin in the big picture. Cooking and or sprouting gets rid of this. Soaking only lowers it. So, you may want to do what many others do, and soak them over night, and then sprout them until the little tails pop out. (I find the spouting takes a day or two depending on the weather.) Then they are safer to consume. Still "harder" then cooked garbanzos, but softer then dried ones.

Hope that helps.

Cassy :)

[ashabean]

Sounds great cassy, only problem is I haven't done sprouting since i was 5 years old, and I have no idea how to do it!!!!!

Can anyone tell me how to sprout them?

thanks

Ash

[Juan, Judy & Alex]

Sprouting is a matter of rinsing them thoroughly and then allowing them to drain usually 15-30 minutes then place in an area away from direct light. I do this daily until the tails are the length of the seed/bean etc...

Don't hesistate to ask questions we are all here to help and to learn :)

[vegangelist]

yeah, if you don't have a jar to sprout with, just soak the beans (you have done that already) then rinse and drain them into a colander lined with cheesecloth or paper towel (or nothing if the holes are small enough for the beans not to fall thru). set the colander on a plate to catch the drippings and cover with a tea towel or paper towel. Rinse and Drain 2-3 times a day till sprout tail pops out.

kristi