What are the Benefits of Soaking and Dehydrating Nuts?
Sally Fallon and the Weston A. Price Foundation suggests that nuts be soaked and then dehydrated at low temperatures—here’s why:
Phytic acid occurs naturally in nuts, and it protects them until they’re ready for germination. Unfortunately, phytic acid binds to certain minerals and transforms into a phytate, which inhibits your body’s ability to absorb some of the nut’s nutrients.
After several cycles of soaking and rinsing and allowing the nuts a little bit of air, germination will occur. This starts to break down the enzyme inhibitors as the nuts release their protective shield and unlock stored nutrients to prepare for growth. This process creates what some refer to as “activated nuts.”
Once the soaking process is complete, we dehydrate the nuts slowly at a very low temperature to extend the shelf life and give them a delicate crunch.