No. 59

How to Dry Raw Nuts and Preserve Enzymes

Phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors naturally occur in nuts

The phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors prevent digestion and the absorption of nutrients.  Phytic acid binds to the minerals in nuts which prevents your body from being able to assimilate them. By soaking nuts for 8 to 10 hours, it releasez the enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid, making nuts both more bioavailable and digestible. If you have avoided eating nuts in the past due to poor digestibility, try soaking them as described and you may eliminate this problem.

As all of us have become avid label readers, certainly you have noticed the poor quality of oils (soy, corn, cottonseed, etc) used to roast nuts, enough so, if you are like me, you avoid commercial roasted nuts all together.  However, the good news is that you can roast nuts at home.  By first soaking your nuts in water with sea salt as described, you can use low temperature baking to preserve the enzymes and avoid the application of rancid fats used in commercial food production.  The natural oils in nuts are enough for roasting at these lower temperatures without adding any additional oil to the baking dish. The end result is a healthy and delicious food which can be used as a snack, in yogurt, baked goods, home-made granola, or as part of your long term storage plan.

Choosing your nuts–  Another recommendation is to purchase only organic raw nuts. Generally it is considered, when a food has a thick shell it is somewhat more protected from pesticides or other toxic agricultural chemicals as compared to the more fragile foods like leafy greens or berries. But when it comes to nuts, the shell is not the only consideration.  Choosing organically grown nuts for roasting is important in order to avoid irradiated product.  Irradiating nuts destroys their available nutrition just as it does the minerals in salt.  Packaging laws do not require the manufacturer to label their product as irradiated, so be sure to consider organic in order to avoid it. I would also not recommend shelling your own nuts. It is overly time consuming and just not worth it when a machine can do it for you.

Recipe

Soak 4 cups of raw nuts in clean filtered water and sea salt (see salt guide below) for 8 hours.

Next drain off the water and spread the nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Slow dry in your oven at 150 degrees or under, for 12-24 hours.

Temperatures higher than 150 degrees will destroy the enzymes for proper digestion. If your oven doesn’t have a low temperature option for 150 degrees, consider using a quality food dehydrator which has an internal fan. Time required for dehydration and roasting will vary between 12 and 24 hours based upon the size and type of the nut. For example, almonds are a more dense nut which requires about 24 hours as compared to softer nuts such as pecans or walnuts which only require 12 to 16 hours.  Cracking or breaking up the nuts before roasting and dehydrating will speed up the process.

After roasting and dehydrating the nuts, you can preserve them in the freezer for later use.  Vacuum seal nuts in a mason jar for up to 6 months of freshness.  For those of you who preserve foods for long term storage;  due to the oil content of nuts, shelf life is reduced whether freezing or vacuum sealing.  In order to preserve foods for long term storage, the rule of thumb is for moisture content to be only 10%.  Nuts, even with low moisture, still contain natural oils which makes them prone to rancidity and a shorter shelf life than other dry goods.  The best preservation for nuts is to soak, roast, and vacuum seal for extended freshness. Occasionally check your seal on vacuum sealed nuts and reseal if it becomes necessary to help prevent rancidity.  Even if your recipe calls for a higher oven temperature, such as 200 degrees, you will not preserve the enzymes but you will release the minerals and nutrients in the nuts making them more bioavailable than raw nuts and usually digestible even by those who generally do not tolerate nuts. Cashews are not considered suitable for this roasting process and are not listed in the guide.

Salt Guide For Roasting Nuts

• Pecans–  2 teaspoons
• Almonds, Macadamia Nuts, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Cashews, Pine Nuts-  1 tablespoon
• Walnuts-  2 teaspoons.  Because of the high natural fat content of this nut, soak in the refrigerator instead at room temperature to preserve the quality
• Pumpkin Seeds-  2 tablespoons