Did you know that along with all the good nutrients contained in plants there are some that aren’t so good for us? We caught up with Vegan Fairs organiser and head chef at 42 Acres Jo Harrington on the importance of soaking and sprouting…

What’s in plants?

As the vegan diet tends to be higher in nuts, seeds, legumes and beans, particularly if you are following a more natural whole-food diet, this can lead to us eating a higher load of certain chemicals which can cause gastric discomfort as well as inhibiting absorption of important nutrients. They fall into the following:

Phytate (phytic acid) – common in seeds, grains and legumes, it reduces the absorption of minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium to name a few.

Tannins -  an antioxidant polyphenol which may impair digestion of various nutrients.

Lectins- found in all plants especially seeds, legumes and grains, in high amounts they can cause harm to the digestive tract lining and interfere with absorption of other nutrients.

Protease Inhibitors- common in all plants especially seeds, legumes and grains. It interferes with digestion by inhibiting digestive enzymes that allow our bodies to break down the protein.

Calcium Oxalate - the primary form of calcium in many vegetables especially spinach. Calcium bound to oxalate is poorly absorbed.

As well as taking in these chemical plants have been ingenious in protecting themselves with their chemical structure making it hard for us to unlock all the nutrients. 

There are things we can do to prepare certain foods making them more digestible,  and releasing the enzymes, minerals and vitamins. Factors such as underlining health conditions like Chron’s or coeliacs disease or our gut flora also determine our ability to absorb nutrients.

How do we reduce the harmful chemicals and release the nutrients?

It’s simple really, soaking and sprouting foods alters the chemical load by reducing the phytic acid. Phytate binds to the available minerals in our gastrointestinal tract, stopping their absorption and can lead to deficiency. It also releases the good minerals, enzymes and vitamins making them bioavailable to us.

Is it necessary to always soak foods?

No, there are some good reasons to eat these plant chemicals, for example there’s evidence to show phytic acid is a cancer inhibitor. So it’s all about balance, you don’t always need to soak foods, cooking and other forms of preparation releases nutrients too. The best thing to do is to eat as varied diet as possible with a balance of raw, cooked, fermented and soaked foods. It is more relevant if you eat a more of these foods such as a plant based or vegan diet where you might get a higher chemical load or if you have digestive issues.

How to soak.

A general rule is the bigger and denser the food, the longer it will need to soak. Cover the seeds, nuts grains, beans or legumes with double the amount of water and leave to soak. The longer it needs to be soaked and the more you need to change the water rinsing off the food at the same time.  Always discard the soaking water. 

Some nutritionist suggest acidifying the soaking water with salt, lemon juice or cider vinegar. I can’t find any scientific reason for doing this and wasn’t taught to do it this way, but give it a try if you like.  I haven’t found any benefit in using this method. There’s also lots of suggestions you need to leave in a warm place but for safety, I always soak in the fridge, you might find this takes a little longer, but it stops fermentation particularly with beans which we don’t want at this stage of preparation. Sometimes you’ll see bicarbonate of soda added and although it does speed up the soaking time by softening the food, I think it negatively affects the flavour and texture of the food when cooked, so I don’t use it.

Below is a guide chart for now long you need to soak, please use it as a guide, soaking will vary depending on how long your food has been stored, what the harvest was like etc. 

The exceptions.

Chia and flax seeds will both form a mucilage gel if you soak them. This is something you often want to do to use them in baking or raw food preparation but they are quite unpleasant to consume on their own if soaked. 

Type of nut, seed, grain, bean or legume and soaking time A-Z.

• Aduki bean: 8 hrs

• Alfalfa: 8 hrs

• Almond: 8 – 12 hrs

• Barley: 6-12 hrs

• Brazil: 8 hrs

• Brown rice: 7 hrs

• Buckwheat: 7 hrs

• Cashews: 2-3 hrs

• Chia seed: don’t soak

• Chickpea: 12 hrs

• Corn: 12hrs

• Flax seed: don’t soak

• Hazel nut: 8 -12 hrs

• Hemp seed: 2-4 hrs

• Kidney beans: 12 hrs

• Lentil: 8 hrs

• Macadamia: 2 hrs

• Millet: 7 hrs

• Mung bean: 12 hrs

• Oats: 6 hrs

• Pecan nuts: 4- 6 hrs

• Pine nuts: don’t soak

• Pistachio nut: 4- 6 hrs

• Poppy: 2 hrs

• Pumpkin seed (hulled): 8 hrs

• Quinoa: 2 hrs

• Rye: 8 hrs

• Sesame seed: 8 hrs

• Spelt: 8hrs

• Sunflower seed: 2 hrs

• Walnuts: 4-6 hrs

• Wheat: 7 hrs

After soaking how do we use them?

Once soaked you can use the beans, lentils, nuts or seeds in your plant milks, recipes or dehydrate them to make flours or use in recipes like granolas or chocolate. You can also do the next stage which is sprouting.

What does sprouting do?

It unlocks the nutrients and can lower the anti-nutrients making the foods easier to digest as well.

How do you sprout?

If you have a sprouter then use this, they are really worth the small investment, I bought mine 30years ago and it makes the process very easy. Having said that it’s not a complicated thing to do you’ll need a large glass jar some cheese-cloth or muslin elastic band.

• Soak your seeds, legumes or beans in at least double the amount of water – if using a jar cover with the cloth and hold in place with the elastic band.

• Most seeds and legumes benefit from a long soak overnight if you are going to sprout them, beans up to 24 hours – times will vary depending on how long they have been stored and the ambient temperature, if it’s cold it will take longer. You want the seeds, legumes and beans to plump up.

• After soaking drain the water, rinse, refill with fresh water and drain them by positioning the jars on the side at an angle for several hours. This allows the jar to completely drain.

• Placing the jars on a sunny windowsill will help with the sprouting process

• Repeat this 2-3 times a day.

• Once they have reached your preferred size then give a final rinse and drain well before using or putting a lid on the jar and storing in a fridge for a few days.

Jo will be doing a live cookery demo at our next Online Vegan Fair on Sat 8th May. Tune in to find out what she is making and ask her any of your culinary questions!