Chia seeds - please help

[Raspberry4]

Hello!
I was wondering what to do with my chia seeds I just purchased (Nutiva brand)? I put them in some water and fruit juice and they did not do anything - just remained as seeds? Is this correct? I even tried boiling water and nothing... Are they supposed to gel like flax seeds in water? Please help. Thank you!

[delmar]

We were talking about them in another thread.
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?67711-Tell-me-about-Chia

Mine are starting to sprout but I'm still not sure how well they are going to do.

Here are directions for how they sprout them on a chia pet
http://www.chia.com/index.php/chia-pet-growing-instructions

[Raspberry4]

Thank you. I went there and read them. I wonder why my seeds remained mostly like seeds
and not a "gel"? Any ideas? The date is not due on the bottom of the package...

[walnutty]

Thank you. I went there and read them. I wonder why my seeds remained mostly like seeds
and not a "gel"? Any ideas? The date is not due on the bottom of the package...


Did you use the right proportion of liquid to chia? Did you stir them really fast and well every minute or so?

I've never had a problem with chia seeds not gelling...weird! They are so yummy too, so I hope it works the next time you make chia pudding!

[DebB]

I have the same experience as walnutty - I've never had them not gel up...

[Raspberry4]

Walnutty - can you give me liquid to seed measurement and I will try again? And, I stirred them once, they settled at bottom, some rose to top with a little bit of purplish gel around them. That was it.

[walnutty]

Walnutty - can you give me liquid to seed measurement and I will try again? And, I stirred them once, they settled at bottom, some rose to top with a little bit of purplish gel around them. That was it.

Hello again!

My container of chia states:

To prepare chia gel: Whisk 1/3 cup chia seeds into 2 cups water. Let stand for 3 minutes and whisk again. Chia gel keeps up to two weeks in the refrigerator.


I actually like mine really thick so I add an extra T. or 2. I also do not wait the exact 3 minutes. I just stir it up really, really good every couple of minutes. You should be able to see and feel the chia thickening in the water pretty quickly. It will thicken up a bit more while it is refrigerated.

Hope this helps!

[Raspberry4]

Walnutty - do the seeds kind of disappear into the gel or do you still "see" seeds? And, is the gel like a purplish color? Thank you!

[walnutty]

I still see the seeds. I make mine into a vanilla gel or pudding, so it's always a brown color (from vanilla and agave) so I don't know if it would turn purplish if I didn't do that.

When I eat my pudding/gel I can still taste the seeds. I like to chew them!

[idquest]

Does anybody wash\rinse the chia seeds?

I'm asking because washing quinola and buckwheat takes so much time that I had to give up on using them in my diet even though I like them. Both quinola and buckwheat produce some sort of foamy-slimy stuff that is hard to wash away. This happens even when they look quite cleen. Now, I want to try chia seeds but I can't imagine how I would wash/rinse them.

[Raw Angel Mom]

No, you don't wash or rinse them. I also only have gel and still see the seeds.

[Raspberry4]

Thank you for the help everyone.