Soak nuts and seeds without a dehydrator?

[darien]

I read that after soaking nuts and seeds you need to dehydrate them. What is the point of dehydrating them? Is there a way to complete the process without a dehydrator?

[GlimR]

You don't need to dehydrate them, unless you are using them in a recipe that would be too wet otherwise...or if you want to store them for along time. Otherwise keep covered in water for a week or so, but change the water daily to keep them fresh. This is primarily for almonds....soft nuts require much less soak time.

[darien]

I read it only takes 12 hours to soak almonds. Does it really take a week? And should you only soak organic almonds? How long do other nuts and seeds take to soak?

[GlimR]

:)No it does not take a week...only overnight..but if you make extra, you can keep them stored in the fridge, covered with water for up to a week...as long as you change the water out every day or so.
I soak most other nuts for 2 hours or so.

[DebB]

Hi darien ~ The only reason I use a dehydrator after soaking the nuts (and sunflower seeds) is, like GlimR stated, so that I can store them and have them all ready to grab and go for recipes.

After dehydrating them, I pack them into glass jars and store in the fridge.

The almonds I generally buy aren't organic and I soak them just the same as I would organic.

And for what it's worth, I go an extra step with sunflower seeds and sprout them for about 2 days after soaking. They will actually sprout a tail. Then I go ahead and dehydrate.*Ü*