Food Soaking & Preparation Our ancestors used to soak food items before consuming them. Food allergies and sensitivities, celiac disease, chronic indigestion, digestive problems and nutrient deficiencies are all widespread problems in western cultre. Why is food making us sick? In today’s fast paced world we have become used to preparing foods quickly. Unfortunately this is having some negative consequences on our health. Soaking and traditional preparation techniques can have a dramatic, positive impact on the nutritional quality of foods and the absorption of minerals from all foods in the diet. The phytic acid found in these food groups binds up the minerals preventing your body from fully absorbing them. Preparing these food groups appropriately ensures they can still be included in the diet maximizing their nutrient density whilst mitigating the effects of the anti-nutrients, the phytates and enzyme inhibitors. You will also find that these soaking and preparation methods will make the end result of your food so much tastier!
Food groups that require soaking •
Grains
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Legumes
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Dried lentils and split peas
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Nuts and seeds
Acidic mediums used for soaking •
Lemon juice - (handy tip - squeeze your lemon juice into an ice cube tray and pop out a cube when needed)
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Unfiltered and unpasteurized raw apple cider vinegar, e.g. Eden’s, Bragg’s or Marigold’s
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Baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
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Buttermilk
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Kefir
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Yogurt or whey
Soaking •
Be sure to use good quality non-chlorinated, non-fluoridated warm water
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Whatever you are soaking keep at room temperature, do not refrigerate
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Some foods also benefit from an acidic medium adding
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Once soaking is complete always drain, rinse well and use fresh good quality cooking water
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During the cooking process skim off any foam that rises and discard
.
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Grains All grains are best soaked at around 110 degrees F or 42 degrees C. Gluten free grains include amaranth, buckwheat, millet, rice and quinoa and are least challenging to the digestive system. These are the easiest grains to digest because they contain less phytates than other grains. Buckwheat and millet are more seed-like than they are a grain. Quinoa is in fact a seed, though used as a grain in food preparation and recipes. Quinoa needs to be rinsed well before soaking then soaked for around 6 hours. Grains need to be soaked for a minimum of 7 hours. Soaking overnight is a good practice for whatever you plan to eat the next day. 2 tbsp acidic medium from the list above should be added for each cup of grain.
Gluten-containing grains include wheat, rye, spelt, barley, oats, bulgar, durum, kamut, semolina, triticale. Soaking gluten-containing grains partially breaks down the hard-to-digest gluten, as well as removing phytates and other unwanted enzymes, making them easier to digest and absorb.
Corn needs to be soaked in limewater if consumed in any quantity. Soaking in limewater releases the bound up nicotinamide, vitamin B3 in the grain. In countries where there was high consumption of corn, there was a presence of Pellagra, a disease brought about by vitamin B3 deficiency. To make limewater place 1 inch of pickling lime in a 2-quart jar. Fill the jar with water, shake well, cover tightly and leave overnight. The resultant clear liquid is limewater. For 1 cup of coarsely ground corn use 1 cup of limewater. NB: Pickling lime is also known as slaked lime, milk of lime, calcium hydroxide.
Both bran and wheat germ have not been listed, even though they are grains. The high phytate content of bran makes it a poor choice and wheat germ is very susceptible to rancidity. When soaking flour for a recipe, use only the amount of liquid (e.g. sour, cultured milk, buttermilk or whey, yoghurt, vinegar or lemon juice) and flour in the recipe, and no other ingredients. Use the liquid amount in the recipe to soak the flour adding 2 tbsp of yogurt, kefir, buttermilk or yogurt to make up the total liquid. For example if a recipe calls for 2 cups of water, start with your acidic medium and then top the mixture up with water until you have a total of to 2 cups. Soak at room temperature.
Bread products that have been made with soaked whole wheat, kamut or spelt flour rise easily with baking soda alone and do not require the added extra of baking powder.
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Legumes All legumes are best soaked in warm water at around 130 degrees F or 54 degrees C. Legumes contain very difficult to digest complex sugars and high levels of enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid so soaking and correct preparation will do much to reduce potential bloating problems and digestibility. Canned, cooked beans cannot be soaked and still contain phytic acid. I would avoid canned food anyway due to BPA and aluminum exposure to contents. The canning process also denatures the contents and nutrients within and so are best eaten on rare occasions.
Add acidic medium when soaking (e.g. lemon juice): medium to large sized raw beans 1 tbsp per cup raw small beans 2 tbsp per cup Larger beans and kidney beans –24 hrs Smaller beans including dried black, lima, pinto, white beans etc. – 12 hrs
Soaking beans for up to 48 hours is not uncommon and improves digestibility further, in which case the water needs to be changed frequently to prevent fermentation.
Fava or broad beans contain a substance that is known to cause a deadly form of aneamia in susceptible persons and so best avoided (not helped by soaking or fermenting).
Soybeans should only be eaten after being fermented and can be found in this form in miso, tempeh and natto.
Dried Lentils & Split peas •
Soak for 7 hours minimum (does not require acidic medium)
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Always pour off the soaking water and rinse well
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Skimming the top of the cooking water is also recommended where the foam forms.
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Nuts & Seeds All nuts and seeds are best soaked at room temperature at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius in salt water then dried in an oven or dehydrator
• ½ to 1 tsp of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt added per cup of nuts or seeds • Pour on enough water to cover • Soak for 6 to 8 hours • If nuts or seeds need to be used dry, pat dry and spread out to air dry or place in an oven at a very low temperature or with the door open or in a dehydrator, (heating nuts at high temperatures damages the oils within) • If storing then make sure they are totally dry so as not to form mould. A paper towel can be added to absorb any residual moisture. (I would recommend only soaking and drying what you need in the short term) • Always refrigerate nuts and seeds in an airtight container to avoid them becoming rancid • If you choose not to dry your nuts or seeds be sure to consume them within 3 days or they will start to deteriorate • Cashews are in fact not raw and have already been through a level of processing so do not soak for more than 7 hours • Almond flour (made from blanched almonds) does not need soaking • Ground almonds made from whole almonds will still need soaking (as above) as the anti-nutrients have not been removed • When soaking flax seeds and chia seeds the absorbed liquid makes them mucilaginous and impossible to do this process. However, mere soaking will help.
References:
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats - by Sally Fallon with Mary Enig, Ph.D., Weston A. Price Foundation
www.nutsabouthealth.co.uk
sarah@nutsabouthealth.co.uk
Tel: 07786 687444