question about buying raw seeds and such...

[annieH]

It occured to me the other day when i was in my local supermarket...looking at the bulk bins....they sell raw almonds and walnuts and all kinds of raw seeds.
How can you be sure... if you are buying these items from your local market....or indeed your local natural foods store....be it whole foods.... or a mom and pop shop.... how can you be sure that these nuts and seeds have not been exposed to very high heat?
Yes they might be 'raw' but... what about the process involved in getting them from the grower to the market?

Are they simply left to dry? or is there any heating involved? and if there is....how do we know the nuts and seeds are still viable.
If they are not roasted....but still heated.....is that really raw?


Honestly i dont know what to think.

[Autumn]

Ask a lot of questions. Ask the manager or owner of the store where the nuts/seeds come from. Call the supplier, manufacturer or grower and ask about their processing. I've called a couple myself and the people I talked to were more than happy to answer any and all questions.

Good luck!

[RawTruth]

If they are labelled raw, that means they should not have heat applied to them. As Autumn said, you can find out who the supplier is and contact them directly. But, an easy way to find out is if they don't sprout. You want to be soaking and sprouting most of your seeds and nuts anyway. If they don't sprout, they weren't raw.

[annieH]

Thanks...both good points.....but like raw priestess says.... i dont soak the hard shelled nuts like walnuts and macs and pecans and the like
I do soak the almonds.....but i will ask more questions.
Thanks

[RawTruth]

i dont soak the hard shelled nuts like walnuts and macs and pecans and the likeI guess I wasn't very clear -- you can soak a few just to check on their raw-ness. I find this easier than getting to the truth sometimes -- since the only ones who really know that a product is raw are the ones who made/produced/harvested it. The store only knows what it's told ... or what the clerk or manager believes to be true. Anyway, it's sad but a reality of life when we're so far removed from the source of our food!
:(

[Revvell]

Well, you could stick to only raw, organic.

...and since almonds, macs, cashews (which I doubt are EVER raw) walnuts and pecans don't really sprout tails, it's not an easy way to tell. Now, seeds tend to be different.

As RT says, the manager or clerk only goes by what he's been told or sold. If you ask, they'll probably look at the package and read what you've already read methinks.


Revvell

[annieH]

Yes... you are right about that. All the store knows is what they have been told and i am very wary about that.
I could stick to only raw organic ....but ....walnuts and the like are the base for things i like to make
I guess i will have to just use as little as possible....becuse unless we know more about where it comes from for sure....then we dont know if its really raw.

Thanks for your thoughts

[Autumn]

Let me clarify my post. I suggested to ask the manager or owner, then suggested to call the processor, manufacturer or grower. Meaning, if these nuts seeds are in bulk bins, ask the manager/owner where they came from and THEN call THAT place. I wasn't inferring to take the store manager's word because I'm sure they often have no idea. I was just using that individual as a starting point to get the information.

Aut :D