Soaking

[rawpriestess]

Hi Rawtruth, I felt you call me.

the reason you soak nuts is to release the enzyme inhibitors, so that the nut will sprout, and be easier to digest.

so, if the nut has a hard shell, it has less enzyme inhibitors, because it will absorb less water, if it drops from the tree, so you do NOT soak hard shelled nuts, like pine nuts, pecans, walnuts

If the nut has a soft shell you soak it, like almonds and hazelnuts.

Also, the harder shelled nuts have more frangrance oils, and you don't want to soak away the flavor, if you do choose to soak pine nuts, pecans or walnuts, only soak them for about 15 minutes,

almonds and hazelnuts should be soaked about 12 to 24 hours, rinse three tiems, and change soak water every 4 to 6 hours or so.

hope this helps.

[RawTruth]

Yep! That really helps. Thanks, RawPriestess. Different "experts" say different things = gets confusing. Now, we city folk have to figure out which nuts originally had which shells. Honestly!! We're so separated from nature! If we never got that holiday mix of unshelled nuts, how would we know?

There are so many recipes that have us soaking the delicious flavor out of pecans and walnuts!