Soaking

[Kathleen]

Are you supposed to soak everything, every kind of nut (including pine nuts), and raisins? Some recipes specify "soaked" and others don't - should I just assume that everything should be soaked? Thanks, Kath

[DotfromOz]

Well, anyway, that's what most of the books I've read say on the theory that nuts are difficult to digest and soaking removes the enzyme inhibitors that make them so.

Me, I've never had a problem digesting nuts and think that the soaked ones I've eaten so far (a few times...not often) were icky-yukkola. Tasted like baby food to me, slippery and slimy.

My motto is, "If it works, do it. If not, trash it or tinker with it until it does work for ya."

[DotfromOz]

The recipe I was trying said to soak them overnight. I rinsed and all that before using, but I still thought the nuts were yukky compared with the flavor of the same ones without soaking. These were really good pecans. Maybe I just soaked them too long?

[just_jo]

hey, ladies.... may I ask for your wisdom as we are talking "soaking and sprouting"???

Does the grain or legume actually have to be sprouted to be considered "live food" or can I just soak it and eat it sproutless? :confused:

[RawTruth]

Hi People -- may I humbly suggest that you read the soaking portion of Alissa's book? She's quite specific about it -- as is Rhio in her book.

Nuts need to be soaked in order for them to be live food. Even though they are raw, the enzymes are not alive like the enzymes are in lettuce, oranges, etc. Soaking activates the enzymes. Then the nutrients can be used by the body just like other live food. That is what is meant by being more "easy to digest." It's not whether they give you a stomach ache or gas -- it's that your body is not having to use its limited enzymes to try to break down the nut and get some nutrition from it like it has to do when it's not soaked. The same is true for almost all seeds. Some nuts will sprout, some won't, though all seeds will. Sprouting just a teensy bit (till there's a little tail) is always best since the nut/seed becomes even more nutrient-dense as it sprouts.

If you plan to eat them out of hand and don't like that they have a softer texture after soaking, just pop them in the dehydrator (at less than 110 degrees, of course) overnight and they'll get crunchy again.

That said, I would never soak pecans since they lose their wonderful flavor. I just use them like gold -- which is almost what they cost!

[just_jo]

thanks for the reply,

but I am wondering about grains and legumes.
Would it be the same as it is for nuts?

[RawTruth]

You really need to consult a book ... or several ... about this. There are charts and lots of information. Grains don't sprout -- they're not a part of a raw diet (although Rhio says in her book that she's gotten brown rice to sprout). Wild rice and buckwheat are grasses, not grains. Some legumes do sprout and that's where you get your green sprouts from. It sounds like what you need is some good solid basic how-tos, not advice from a thread on an online forum.

If you haven't already done so, I strongly suggest you get Alissa's book (and DVD) -- and there are others that go into even more detail about this whole world. If you're just starting out and you don't want or aren't able to invest money in books, most libraries have at least one or two raw books. Or ... there's always Border's or Barnes & Noble (not sure if they're where you live) and you can sit for hours and read the whole thing and take notes there. Though, many fabulous books aren't published by major publishings houses (and, thus, aren't carried by chain bookstores), there are some tried and true bibles of raw at the big mega-bookstores.

Good luck.

[PixieGreen]

Grains don't sprout -- they're not a part of a raw diet (although Rhio says in her book that she's gotten brown rice to sprout). Wild rice and buckwheat are grasses, not grains. Some legumes do sprout and that's where you get your green sprouts from.

I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from. I've sprouted rye, kamut, and wheat to make sprouted crackers and/ or cereals. Sprouting these grains greatly reduces their gluten content, which is the allergen commonly associated with them. In addition, sprouting vastly increases their nutritional content and makes them more disgestable. Can you explain what you meant?

Christa

[PixieGreen]

Jo, I agree with RawTruth in terms of getting the basics of the Raw Lifestyle. There's too much to cover in detail on the forum, but there are many sources, from books, classes, and free online. Here are a few:

Raw Food 101
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall04/Beckett/faqs.html

Living and Raw Foods Articles and Information
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/

Alissa's Raw Food links page
http://www.alissacohen.com/links.html

Christa

[RawTruth]

I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from. I've sprouted rye, kamut, and wheat to make sprouted crackers and/ or cereals. Sprouting these grains greatly reduces their gluten content, which is the allergen commonly associated with them. In addition, sprouting vastly increases their nutritional content and makes them more disgestable. Can you explain what you meant? Christa

My bad, Christa.

Yes, of course, they can be sprouted. I rushed through my answer as I was running out the door.

I personally don't use wheat (or spelt, triticale, or kamut either since they're varieties of wheat) and avoid other sources of gluten (so barley and rye are also out). And, not many raw recipes use grains. So, they're not even a part of my world nor in my thoughts.

Other than that explanation, maybe my brain had a bubble in its reasoning area. :rolleyes:

[PixieGreen]

My bad, Christa.

Yes, of course, they can be sprouted. I rushed through my answer as I was running out the door.

I personally don't use wheat (or spelt, triticale, or kamut either since they're varieties of wheat) and avoid other sources of gluten (so barley and rye are also out). And, not many raw recipes use grains. So, they're not even a part of my world nor in my thoughts.

Other than that explanation, maybe my brain had a bubble in its reasoning area. :rolleyes:

That's cool. I frequently experience cerebral flatulance. :eek: I honestly wanted to know if sprouted grains weren't considered sprouts for some reason. I know some people have difficulty digesting even sprouted grains, so they should be introduced with caution. I'm grateful I can, so far, enjoy them.

Christa

[rawpriestess]

Hi, the info about sprouting nuts to remove the enzyme inhibitors is correct.

Think of it this way, if the nut hits the ground, it won't sprout until it is told to by two things, water, and time, so the harder the outside of the nut, the less enzyme inhibitors it has, so the less you need to soak or not at all,
so do NOT soak, pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, brazils, DO soak almonds, hazelnuts, and although cashews are not nuts, you must soak these too.

The biggest thing you do need to do is to NOT let them sit in their soak water for more than about 4 hours, before you rinse, rinse, rinse, then change the soak water. This is a key factor.

I have heard of people tossing some almonds in to soak not rinsing them, then wondering why the water is cloudy and the nuts taste sour, that is because they are bad.

I soak almonds almost every day for almond milk, and almond pulp.

I take about 1/2 cup of almonds, put in a big bowl, rinse, rinse, rinse, then soak in coold water, about 4 hours later come back and rinse, rinse, rinse, then soak again, then another 4 hours later, repeat, and repeat. I soak almonds up to 24 hours, however I have soaked them for as long as 3 days, in which time you will find something reallsy cool happening, they get really sweet, hazelnuts do this too, so i always soak hazelnuts 3 days, before I use them, and then I don't have to add any dates, and I have frosting.

I often dehydrate my nuts before using them, to crispy them up, they are totally delicious this way.

Hope this clarifies the nut situation.

[RawTruth]

. . . the harder the outside of the nut, the less enzyme inhibitors it has, so the less you need to soak or not at all,
so do NOT soak, pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, brazils . . .

Hi, RawPriestess -- now, why aren't we supposed to soak walnuts? They're very hard shelled -- ??

[Kathleen]

What about raisins? Do you soak raisins? I love alissa's date nut torte - the base of it has a combination of walnuts and raisins so I'm wondering If I'm supposed to soak either of those items before wolfing it down! :) Thanks guys....

[RawTruth]

She states before the recipes that they should be soaked in all the recipes even though they might not say so.

[rawpriestess]

Hi Rawtruth, I felt you call me.

the reason you soak nuts is to release the enzyme inhibitors, so that the nut will sprout, and be easier to digest.

so, if the nut has a hard shell, it has less enzyme inhibitors, because it will absorb less water, if it drops from the tree, so you do NOT soak hard shelled nuts, like pine nuts, pecans, walnuts

If the nut has a soft shell you soak it, like almonds and hazelnuts.

Also, the harder shelled nuts have more frangrance oils, and you don't want to soak away the flavor, if you do choose to soak pine nuts, pecans or walnuts, only soak them for about 15 minutes,

almonds and hazelnuts should be soaked about 12 to 24 hours, rinse three tiems, and change soak water every 4 to 6 hours or so.

hope this helps.

[RawTruth]

Yep! That really helps. Thanks, RawPriestess. Different "experts" say different things = gets confusing. Now, we city folk have to figure out which nuts originally had which shells. Honestly!! We're so separated from nature! If we never got that holiday mix of unshelled nuts, how would we know?

There are so many recipes that have us soaking the delicious flavor out of pecans and walnuts!