the point of dehydrating seeds/nuts after soaking them?

[Non]

I read of people soaking their seeds and nuts, so as to deactive enzyme inhibitors and such. Enzyme inhibitors are active in dry seeds. What's the point in dehydrating them after if enzyme inhibitors become active when they dry?

[Aleesha Sattva]

you wake up your nuts... and dehydrating them again doesn't put them back to sleep... you can then use them in a recipe where you need a dry nut rather than a soaked one.

[Zennifer]

Thanks for this!

I am new to raw and was wondering about the "soak and dry" method as well.

I haven't sprouted ANYTHING yet, but now i am intrigued......

[Non]

"and dehydrating them again doesn't put them back to sleep... "

Any science to that statement?

[sport]

I feel that the main advantage of dehydrating them is that you can store them for longer. Damp wet seeds would have to be used up in a couple of days.

[klomasius]

Non,

the enzyme inhibitors (which were contained in the dormant seed or nut and are one of the reasons non soaked nuts are not as digestible as soaked nuts) have been removed with the soaking and are therefore not a problem in soaked or soaked and dried nuts.

Also, the process of germination initiates a cascade of chemical changes that are mainly to do with the breakdown of more complex storage molecules into more simple energy and structural molecules in order for the seed/nut to make a shoot. This chemical change is not reversable, it's like scrambling an egg, you can't 'unscramble' an egg.

Also, drying at low temperatures does not inactivate or destroy most of the enzymes which have been activated, most enzymes survive low temp desiccation. I worked in a laboratory with many enzymes and discovered it's actually quite hard to destroy them unless you go to high temperatures.

[Non]

ok.. yea I thought redrying them would just make them revert back into their pre-soaked state like it was dry before it was soaked... I guess I was thinking of the same way bacteria go into their endospores, once conditions become unfavorable for growth it goes back into their endospore, and the dry state of the seed would be the equivalent of an endospore.

[klomasius]

Yeah, I get why you would think that. :)

The nut/seed world works a little different to the world of bacteria (strange little critters they are). If you think about it, nuts and seeds are all about both the perpetuation AND multiplication of the species, whereas the endospore mechanism in bacteria is all about survival (i.e. one bacteria makes one endospore and so there's no multiplication, only survival through harsh conditions).

Reversals like that are rare in nature, and usually only happen to less complicated, and often single celled creatures. Although there is a species of jelly fish that reverts back to its immature state and theoretically could live on indefinitely because of this. Aint nature fascinating!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

thanks for filling in the science klom! ;)

[klomasius]

It's my job Leesh! :)