Nut butters

[Liserpiece]

I was wondering... Do the makers of raw nut butters soak the nuts before making the butter? It doesn't say so on any of the ingredient lists. What have you all found? I know how important it is to soak your nuts and seeds, so would these butters be questionable?
Thanks in advance for your replies!:)

[edenvegan]

Heys,
I just wanted to say that the only raw nut butters I've seen were in the refrigerated section of the health store. As for which ones are soaked first, you're gonna have to contact the makers of that brand of nutbutter.--That shouldn't be too hard. (There's usually a number and/or email address.) Good luck!!

[Random Violin Guy]

I had more success when I didn't soak first. I tried soaking once, but it didn't turn out too well - I wasn't too fond of the taste or the texture.

However, this is just my own experience. A friend of mine says she always soaks her nuts before making them into butter. Ah well... I don't really make nut butters anymore.

[Random Violin Guy]

Of course, companies don't make things the same way as we would at home, so maybe they do soak.

Yeah, you should email or call the company/companies and ask. Then let us know, k?

[adriel]

On the topic of nut butters...I have tried making my own a couple of times, but the texture never seems to come out very well. I have a Champion juicer so I just use the blank screen and feed the nuts through. I have tried both soaking and not, but the nut butter always comes out to be very thick, rather than creamy like the store bought kind. Adding oil just makes a greasy pasty nut butter...any suggestions?

[Liserpiece]

Thanke guys! I'm going to call the company and see what they say. I have tried making my own with the nuts I've soaked as well. I didn't have great results either.
I'll let you know what I find out:)

[queenfluff]

How are the nut butter questionable if they are not soaked? They are still raw (unless the company is using very high blending temp which some do and therefore rending the product not raw - but still labeling it as so).

I rarely soak my nuts or seeds. I know that some people soak them to make them more digestable. But NOT soaking them does not render them not raw.

My guess is that they are not soaked.

To make nut butter at home, don't use a juicer. You need a good blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec. (there are already a few thread on how to do this - I think one just from last week with directions on how to do it).

If you don't have a good blender, grind the nuts in a coffee grinder first and than blend. Add water as needed and blend for 1 minute intervals on the highest setting in between blends scrape nuts towards the blade - keep doing this until you get nut butter. The spinning blade is what "forms" the nuts into butter.

[Liserpiece]

Queenfluff- According to what I've read raw nuts and seeds have a enzyme inhibitor. When we eat them this way we have to use our own enzymes to digest them. Soaking them activates those enzymes, making them much better for us. I know that raw, unsoaked almonds actually aren't good for us at all. They create an acid environment unsoaked and soaked they have the opposite effect.

I did some research on the nut butter brands I buy. Not so hot info! They say that they cannot regulate the temps at which the nuts and seeds are ground, so it may indeed get hotter than what "raw foodists prefer (require)". They also do not soak the nuts and seeds. I'm not too surprised, just a bit sad! I really love store bought almond butter!
The brands I looked into:
Maranatha
Whole Foods' 365