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When I’m making raw desserts and chocolate, you’ll notice that I always use nuts that are “activated”. This simply means they soaked, rinsed and dehydrated. The soaking time will be dependant on the nut you are using. The general rule is this; if it has brown skin, it’s soaked for 8 hours, if not, 1-4 hours will do.
This process is the cooked equivalent to roasting the nuts, culinarily speaking. By “activating” the nuts, you not only making them more easily digestible for the body, but you also create a nut / seed that is lighter and crunchier than when you just open a bag of raw nuts you bought. “Activating” them makes them nicer to eat and also makes them more delicious to be used in chocolates and confections.
It’s very simple. Here’s what you do.
- Choose the nut or seed you’d like to activate. There are so many to choose from, don’t limit yourself to almonds and sunflower seeds.
- Soak the nuts or seeds in enough water to cover for the time period that’s required for the nut or seed you’re using. If you’re unsure what that time period is, you can simply do a Google search and find out super fast.
- Strain the water from the nuts using a sieve and rinse them well under running water.
- Spread them on a mesh dehydrator tray and dry for 10-15 hours or until they are crisp.
- Store in an airtight container at room temp for many months.
