Soaking Questions

[VFayeS]

I've been soaking dates and nuts on the kitchen countertop. Should I instead be soaking them in the refrigerator?

Once the dates had soaked several hours, I poured off the water and then put the dates in the fridge. Any idea how long these will keep?

Many thanks!

[Rawkinlocs]

I'm not sure how long your soaked dates will last in the fridge, but for future reference, you really don't "need" to soak dates unless they are hard. If they are very soft, then they should blend well...but if not, soaking helps them to blend better and more creamy so if you do need to soak dates for a recipe, then soak what you need when you need it.

As for nuts, I'm not sure how long they will last once soaked as normally I am either using them right away in something or I will season and dehydrate them for a snack.

[rawpriestess]

save the date soak water, as it is very sweet, you can use in smoothies, or recipes, or just drink with lemon as lemonaid.

dates only need to soak about 15 minutes.

I soak all things on the counter.

Almonds need to soak the longest, about 12 hours, rinse every 4 hours or so.

Once the almonds are soaked if you don't need them, you can keep them in water in the fridge for about 4 days, but change the water daily, after that, if I still don't need them (very rare) I place in a freezer bag and freeze with water, then they will last about 1 month.

But this hardly ever happens, I make almond milk almost every day.

I use alot of dates, and rarely soak them, but occasionally, I have a hard one, then I soak

[VFayeS]

Thanks so much for your responses! I didn't realize that, if dates need to be soaked, they only need to be soaked such a short while. I appreciate the good information.

One more question to you, rawpriestess. Do you strain your almond milk? I tried straining mine through cheesecloth, but became too impatient and just used it straight from the blender.

[ebonysea7]

save the date soak water, as it is very sweet, you can use in smoothies, or recipes, or just drink with lemon as lemonaid.

dates only need to soak about 15 minutes.

I soak all things on the counter.

Almonds need to soak the longest, about 12 hours, rinse every 4 hours or so.

Once the almonds are soaked if you don't need them, you can keep them in water in the fridge for about 4 days, but change the water daily, after that, if I still don't need them (very rare) I place in a freezer bag and freeze with water, then they will last about 1 month.

But this hardly ever happens, I make almond milk almost every day.

I use alot of dates, and rarely soak them, but occasionally, I have a hard one, then I soak

Thanks, RawPriestess. This is very useful information because sometimes I'm not able to use all the almonds I've soaked right away.