Soaking and Sprouting: Patience is a Virtue
It’s hard to imagine that raw seeds, nuts, grains and beans warrant anything so involved as soaking and sprouting. They’re raw, after all! Isn’t that enough to make them wonderful? Unfortunately for us, however, they’re so highly evolved that they’ve got their own protective outerwear built in. They’re covered in enzyme inhibitors that prevent them from germinating prematurely and help keep all the essential nutrients they need to grow, all locked up and safe till the right moment. Essentially it’s like the plant equivalent of wearing a chastity belt.
Those chemicals don’t help us at all, though. Instead they prevent us from being able to absorb minerals and proteins from our food, causing nutrient deficiencies, indigestion and other health issues. We can’t properly digest these foods unless those enzyme inhibitors are neutralized. This is where soaking and sprouting comes into the picture. It’s the key to unlocking that chastity belt. And the key to making all the good stuff inside available to us – not just the plants.
Soaking and Sprouting as A Key to Better Health
Soaking and sprouting allows your nuts, seeds and grains to become transformed. Bitter flavors that reside in their skins are removed. Where once they were dormant, difficult to digest and hanging on to their nutrient treasure, they are resurrected from this slumbering state and literally come alive with enzymes, minerals and nutritional bounty!
Soaking and sprouting allows us to eat grains, beans, nuts and seeds completely raw and enjoy all their benefits. And that’s what we want.
Sprouting is dependent on organic, fresh produce so it’s best to buy at stores that have a relatively quick turnaround of their bulk foods. Additionally all surfaces, bowls, strainers and – lest we forget – hands, should be clean when handling sprouts so that contamination doesn’t become an issue.
Sprouts can be refrigerated and kept for a few days, max. Using them as soon as possible ensures their freshness.
And what if you’re trying to sprout something that’s supposed to sprout and nothing happens? It’s a fairly good indication that whatever you were trying to sprout, either wasn’t fresh or wasn’t organic. And what then? Get rid of it! If at first you don’t succeed… well, you know what you have to do… Melissa went through this just a few weeks ago when she was trying to sprout forbidden rice. That rice looked great and even edible on the second day. But by the fourth day, it still showed no signs of sprouting. Didn’t look as great anymore, either. And then it started to smell ‘not so good on top of it! We had to get it out of the kitchen, pronto!
Finally, take note: not everything sprouts so keep expectations within reason and consult the Soaking and Sprouting Times List. Most nuts don’t sprout. You still need to soak them, though to get those pesky enzyme inhibitors off of your food.
Soak It, Don’t Sprout It
Most raw food recipes that call for nuts will specify soaking times but a great rule of thumb is that the harder the nut is, the longer it needs to soak. Almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios should soak for 4 to 8 hours. Brazil nuts, pecans and walnuts have a higher oil content and are therefore softer, calling for a medium soaking time of 2-4 hours. Cashews, macadamias and pine nuts only need 1-2 hours because they don’t even have those outer skins we’re trying so hard to get rid of. Pine nuts are so soft that sometimes I don’t bother soaking them at all.
Sometimes the whole idea of soaking and sprouting seems like a hassle. Yes, it requires a little foresight. A little preparation. But your part in it is so meager, it hardly seems worth getting aggravated. All you have to do is check on some grains or seeds – or whatever might be in that bowl on your counter – periodically, and give them a quick rinse. Put them in the most obvious spot to make it as easy as possible. It’s not time consuming. The most it will take is a little patience.
How To: Soaking and Sprouting Grains, Seeds, Nuts and Beans
- Soak grain, nuts,beans or seeds in water in a bowl. Water should be double the measure of the produce. So if you have one cup of grain, you’ll need two cups of water. (Filtered water is best but I will admit that I’ve used plain tap water from time to time and never had a problem.)
- Cover bowl with a light cloth. Leave the bowl on your counter-top for the specified time.
- Note: For longer soaking times, it is important to strain and rinse produce once or twice every day and introduce new water!
- Times Up! Soaking time has elapsed and now it’s time to sprout! Slowly drain all water and rinse grains, nuts, beans or seeds. At his point, it’s a great idea to keep them in a strainer set into a bowl because you will be rinsing them periodically until they sprout. Cover the bowl with cheesecloth or even a nut-milk bag – to shield from flies and such but still allow light and air in. Option #2 would be putting them in a nut milk bag and drawing the strings at the top and either placing the whole thing loosely into a bowl or hanging it somewhere near the sink.
- Rinse and drain thoroughly but carefully 2-4 times daily, always putting them, covered, back on the counter (or hanging by your sink) when your done. Everything should be kept moist throughout the process and exposed to air and light.
- Sprouts should be visible in 2-4 days.
Soaking And Sprouting Chart
