To soak or not to soak...

[danened]

I am somewhat new to raw food and I am confused about when you should or should not soak nuts. I have been reading (A LOT) and have now come across a thread that talks about soaking and then dehydrating. Are there some tips or hints to know when you should soak? I also read that some nuts don't need soaking since they don't have enzyme inhibitors-- which ones would that be?

There are so many recipes that use nuts and I am hesitant to make them since I don't want to eat nuts unsoaked if I'm not getting the enzyme value yet I don't want to ruin the recipe if they should be used unsoaked... are they then still good for you to digest?

Sorry I'm rambling but I am so confused! That's not always an unusual state for me!! :p

Lastly-- I have a Greenstar juicer and would love to make almond butter... any suggestions?

[ryana]

no answers??? please help i have the same question

[veganman]

Hi Ryana -

good questions. I am also wondering where people are getting the info on what to soak and for how long? For instance, someone posted that if you soak sesame seeds, it inhibits the oxalic acid. Where does this info come from? Or is it one of ths urban legend things that we all keep circulating? :rolleyes:

[sport]

I soak all nuts except wallnuts and macadamia and all seeds except sesame (I grind my flax seeds). This is just what I do but I am hoping that someone will point you towards a website.

[veganman]

This is a post from last month, but it didn't really get any replies and I still have the same questions. Does anyone have any info around this?

[mindelicious]

I am pretty sure for nuts if it has a hard shell then you soak. If it has a soft shell don't soak or only soak for an hour to soften for blending & what not. If you are unsure about what kind of shell it comes in check it out on the net.

I really only use almonds, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame & flax. I grind flax, don't soak sesame, soak pumpkin seeds for an hour so they absorb flavor better for dehydrating, don't soak sunflower long unless I want to make them into a creamy patte, and always soak almonds.
Also don't soak pine nuts longer than half an hour it ruins the flavor...

[scott]

Living On Live Food - Alissa Cohen - pg.36 and also 275-279 - very simple

and will answer all of your questions.

Scott

[rawpriestess]

Walnuts, pecans, macademia nuts pine nuts you don't need to soak, and here's how it was explained to me.

when a nut grows it wants to be consumed and made into another tree, but it wants to do that in another area, so it can grow big and healthy and strong, all over the earth, not just in one area,

so it does two things, it looks and tastes great to a lot of little critters who will carry it away and deposit it somewhere else, such as a squirel burrying it.

It doesn't want to drop on the ground and start to make a tree immediately, so it has enzyme inhibitors, to keep itself fresh for a long time.

Well, when it drops on the ground, or is burries by a squirel the water in the Earth, starts to work on it, but not instantly, the harder the shell of the nut, the less enzyme inhibitors it has, because it is hard to crack and hard for the water to seap in from the Earth, so the really hard shelled nuts like Walnut, pecans, pinenuts and macademias, don't have as much enzyme inhibitors, so don't need to be soaked, or if you do, for only about 10 minutes tops.

The softer shelled nuts, like almonds, cashews need to be soaked,for a long time, because when their shell is soft, it lets in alot of moisture from the Earth, and so it has to have lots of enzyme inhibitors to keep it fresh longer so it can be carried off to another area to reproduce.

Anyway, that's about the only way I can remember what needs to be soaked, and what doesn't, also it seems the more flavorful the nut, the less inhibitors.

[Lay-Lay]

When in doubt soak. Nuts, beans,and seeds have a enzyme inhibator on them. You do not want anything to stand in between you and your enzymes. Now for the most part I soak but, occasionally I don't I must admit soak nuts when I am in a rush. You would place nuts and things in the dehydrator after soaking so that they will harden back up and be dry not soft and wet as they become when soaked, but for the most part you do not have to do this if you are going to use them in a recipe right away that does not require them to be unsoaked.

In recipes that say use unsoaked nutrs or whatever I still soak and then dehydrate and then use them. I try to make every recipe as healthy as possible.

I hope this helps.

[veganman]

In recipes that say use unsoaked nutrs or whatever I still soak and then dehydrate and then use them. I try to make every recipe as healthy as possible.

I hope this helps.

Thank you ILoveRawFoods -

I am also trying to make them as healthy as possible. I get confused when I read that soaking some nuts/seeds makes them harder to digest...


Thank you all for the wonderful, helpful responses.

[Lay-Lay]

I am not aware of soaking causing digestion problems, at least in my case, but I eat kraut daily and that takes care of my tummy, hehe!