Cinnamoned Cashews
I’ve been experimenting with soaking and dehydrating nuts lately and enjoying the results in desserts—such as pecan pie at Thanksgiving—and as a snacks—such as the cashews with a hint of cinnamon I’m featuring here. You might be wondering why I would soak the nuts and dehydrate them, so I thought I’d share my inspiration, which comes from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon:
“… nuts are best soaked or partially sprouted before eaten. This is because nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess. Nuts are easier to digest, and their nutrients more readily available, if they are first soaked in salt water overnight, then dried in a warm oven … [or] a dehydrator. This method imitates the Aztec practice of soaking pumpkin or squash seeds in brine and then letting them dry in the sun before eating them whole or grinding them into meal. Salt in soaking water activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors.”
Nourishing Traditions and other real-food cookbooks recommend soaking most nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans and walnuts) overnight or for 7 hours in salted water before drying them. But cashews are a little different. Because they “become slimy and develop a disagreeable taste” if they soak for too long, cashews can be soaked for as little as three hours—and no more than six hours—before dehydrating.
I found myself with about 2 cups of leftover cashews (I had used them as a base to make a dairy-free, gluten-free gravy at Thanksgiving), which I soaked for a few hours (in enough water to cover them, plus 1 tablespoon sea salt) and then tossed with about a tablespoon each of Rapadura and cinnamon before spreading them on a cookie sheet and drying in the oven for several hours. They make a great snack as is, but next time I want to try grinding them (along with coconut oil, honey and sea salt) into cashew butter. I’d try it with this batch, but they’re almost all gone!
This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.
8 comments
i love anything with cinnamon and sugar! i also really like the taste difference between soaked and dehydrated nuts vs. regular roasted nuts.
This sounds like a great Christmas gift!
I agree with Rebecca – they would make a great gift! I’m happy you’re getting into the soaked nuts. We really think they all taste better, too, with that little bit of salt they acquire from the soaking. THanks for sharing your week in the Twister!
I love cashews. And I love cinnamon. What a great combination. Are you having good results with drying in the oven? I’ve been wanting to attempt it but worry that even at the lowest setting my oven will be too hot.
Hi, Millie:
I worry, too, that my oven is too hot and drying things too intensely. I bought an oven thermometer to test it, and the lowest temperature I can get is 150 on the “warm” setting. I really keep an eye on it when I’m dehydrating sprouted grains, but I have occasionally gotten them a little “crispy.” In addition, I don’t think it’s a very energy-efficient method. But I don’t have a dehydrator yet—although I’m hoping to get one!—so I’ll have to use the oven until I do. Nourishing Traditions actually says that you can dehydrate cashews at 200 to 250 degrees without hurting anything. That’s because there really isn’t any way to get truly raw cashews. By the time we buy them, they have been heated twice, which has destroyed much, if not all, of the enzymes that would be present in the raw cashew. It’s still beneficial to soak them, however, because the salt in the soaking water confers some enzymes onto the cashews, and is does break down the phytic acid that makes all nuts and grains difficult to digest. Give it a try!
—Love, Sonya
Thanks, Wardeh and Rebecca, for the great gift suggestion!
Me, too, Emily! I notice a real difference even in the way the nuts feel in my mouth. With unsoaked nuts, I sometimes sense some irritation if I eat too many. But not with soaked pecans or cashews so far!
—Sonya
Thanks for letting me know how the oven is working for you. I think I’ll give it a try. I have wheat soaking to sprout right now. I also want a dehydrator. Soon I hope.
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