Soaking Nuts For Consumtion

I have a question. I have not gotten to the point of making nut loafs or anything. My question is about keeping nuts after they have been soaked. I have learned that soaking them activates the enzymes and makes them ready for consumption. My question is how long can they be kept or stored after they have been soaked? Also how should they be stored. Should they be kept in water the whole time? Should they be refrigerated?

I know you can't drain them and put them in an air tight container and leave them on the counter. Mine went bad in just over night.

I wonder about storing soaked nuts too. In my experience (limited though):

Soaked almonds last the longest, I store them in water, in the fridge in a glass jar.. and change the water every day. This way they seem to last maybe 5 days.

Soaked sunflower seeds and cashews do not last! In water, maybe 2 days MAXIMUM for cashews, sunflower seeds overnight has been pushing it for me.

It seems changing the water regularly plays a big part in keepin' them fresh. I know lots of people soak their nuts, then dehydrate them and they last much longer this way....

I've pretty much decided that I'm only gonna soak as many as I am going to use. I'll just have to plan ahead.

Thanks

Soak them and then dehydrate them ... they will last a long time :D How long? I don't know, I eat them too fast ... :p

so wait.. should I not eat them raw without soaking? like say taking a handful of raw almonds and just eating them straight?

I understand the whole activating them by soaking thing.. but I guess because in some recipes you soak and in others you don't I figured it's ok to eat them unsoaked as well....

*confused*

I've been wondering about that too, luna. I like to sprinkle sunflower seeds into my salad. I know I should probably soak them, but I don't know for how long, and I don't know whether I should drink the soaking water or not. Any comments from the peanut gallery on this one?

To get off-topic a bit, it was down to -11°F with a -37° wind chill this morning. Why oh why do I want to be raw today?

From "Living Cusine" by Renee Underkoffler (only because I have this book handy ... Alissa explains soaking in her book too):

"Soaked and sprouted seeds and nuts are more digestible than their dry counterparts. To begin with, this is simply because they are plump with water, which helps for easier digestion. Second, the metabolic change in sprouting seeds, nuts, grains, and beans wakes up a flood of enzymes. For auxiliary support, soaking and sprouting wick away the enzyme inhibitors and tannins found in the skins of seeds and nuts, which act to pragmatically slow down digestion."

You can eat nuts soaked or unsoaked ... sounds like you just get a bigger *bang for your buck* if you soak them :rolleyes:

I eat them soaked and unsoaked. I most eat them unsoaked when I am eating them straight from the shell. If I buy them already shelled I will soak them, but, only for the digestive benefit. I personally like them right out of the shell.

you have to dehydrate them after soaking so that they can be stored. ;)

Are the enzymes still activated after dehydration?

OH! let's clarify....RAW fod principle in eating raw nuts is to soak and sprout with the exception of walnus that dont' have to be. If you don't, bloating is sure to creep up and unsoaked nuts swell the pancreas. Also for the recipe concerns, i Alissa's book --recipes, when they call for nuts, there is a understandin that you have alread soaked/sprouted/germinated the nuts. Same goes for grains and seeds.

According to this exerpt, potatoes are suggested also.

Raw seeds or raw nuts, contain enzyme inhibitors which will neutralize some of the enzymes your body produces. In fact, eating foods with enzyme inhibitors causes a swelling of the pancreas. All nuts and seeds contain these inhibitors. Raw peanuts, for example, contain an especially large amount. Raw wheat germ is also one of the worst offenders. In addition, all peas, beans and lentils contain some. Potatoes also have enzyme inhibitors (concentrated in the eyes of the potato). The first is cooking; however, this also destroys the enzymes. The second way, which is preferable, is soaking, rinsing and germinating or sprouting. This destroys the enzyme inhibitors and also increases the enzyme content from a factor of 3 to 6.

I thought I read somewhere that after sprouting you can freeze them so they would be ready at a moments notice. Did I get that wrong?