Why Sprouted?
Initially we had no plans to sell sprouted (AKA soaked and dehydrated) walnuts because we love the taste of our organic, dry farmed raw walnuts. At the Monterey farmers market, some of our regulars kept asking for us to offer sprouted walnuts. We resisted for years due to the significant time and labor it takes to handcraft these products. So our good friend Ken offered the soaked and dehydrated walnuts under his label for years. Then when he decided to retire, the timing was right to add the soaked, sprouted, dehydrated and flavored walnuts in our own product line-up. As always, we only use organically certified ingredients. At the moment we offer two sweet flavors, Chai and Cinnamon, two spicy flavors, Curry and Chili, and for the purists: Sea Salt and Plain.
The Sprouting Process
So many people enjoy our walnuts in the soaked, sprouted and dehydrated version because of the delicious, unique taste and the extra health benefits.
When walnuts are harvested, nature protects the nut with nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances, so it does not sprout prematurely. Once it rains, these substances and toxins are leached out and removed to get the walnut ready to grow. Basically, the rain tells the seed that is a good environment to sprout and make a seedling/new tree. The substances we know that get removed and reduced in this process are the phytic acids and the tannins, plus there is a neutralization of enzyme inhibitors. What does this mean for you?
Easier to Digest and More Nutritious Too!
During the soaking process, the phytic acids are removed. Phytic acids can be a problem because when they combine with nutrients in the intestinal tract they can prevent or block optimal absorption. Removing the phytic acids therefore “frees” up the vitamins and minerals in walnuts for more effective digestion.
Tannins are found in the skin of the walnut. When we soak the walnut, these tannins get rinsed away, removing any bitter flavor and allowing the buttery flavor of the walnut to take center stage.
The enzyme inhibitors are also removed during soaking. Enzyme inhibitors can mess with our natural digestive enzymes which normally break down the food we eat. Once these inhibitors are removed during soaking, the digestion of the walnut becomes much easier.
Another great benefit of soaking is the increased production of several beneficial enzymes, which then release many vitamins otherwise locked up in the walnut, such as vitamin B.
A Labor of Love
Our soaking is generally a 10 hour process! The dehydrators are set at 100 degrees to keep the status of our walnuts raw. They are dried for 24 to 36 hours depending on the humidity level at the time. If we add the flavors, the whole process of handcrafting these soaked, sprouted and dehydrated walnuts will take an average of 5 days. We hope you will enjoy these delicious treasures! Check out our shop to buy some of these delicious treats for yourself.