What are Sprouted Nuts and Seeds?
What are Sprouted Nuts and Seeds?
Sprouting refers to nuts or seeds which have been soaked and then dehydrated. We sprout in order to reduce anti-nutrient factors (ANF's), such as enzyme inhibitors, lectins and phytates from our nuts and seeds.
Sprouting can make it easier for our body to assimilate the nutrients, which may make it easier for some folks digestion. A happy side effect of sprouting is that some folks think that the nuts and seeds taste better, any trace of bitterness is removed, they become crisp and a natural sweetness develops.
All information about sprouting can be found here.
How Does Sprouting Work?
Nuts and seeds naturally contain enzyme inhibitors in order to prevent them from growing into a tree until conditions are just right. When we recreate the right conditions for growth (by soaking nuts or seeds in water) we deactivate the inhibitors, which allows the enzymes to activate, and the nut or seed to grow. While we don't actually allow the nuts and seeds to sprout a new green shoot or root, we wake it up through soaking in order to make its nutrients more available to us. At the NUT • HUT we offer sprouted almonds, sprouted hazelnuts, sprouted pecans, sprouted pistachios, sprouted pumpkin seeds, sprouted sunflower seeds and sprouted walnuts.
At the NUT • HUT our sprouted nuts and seeds have been soaked for a prescribed length of time that we have found optimal for us, (it depends on the nut or seed) in filtered water. We soak approximately 10 pounds of nuts or seeds in 20 qts of water to which two tablespoons of salt are added. They are then rinsed very well and dehydrated at a temperature of 145ºF for 1 hour followed by a temperature of 115º F for up to 65 hours in order to comply with the BC Centre for Disease Control. All of our nuts and seeds have been tested by a food lab for moisture content.
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