Benefits of Soaking

Hi Josie, thanks so much for the question and for reading our articles 😊 Indeed, I mainly soak nuts if we're snacking on them as-is, or if I'm using them in dressings or sauces. Although I don't necessarily do this all the time (sometimes I like the crunch and/or don't make the time).

They do get a bit softer after soaking, which I actually enjoy for certain varieties, such as almonds. If you prefer a crunchier nut, it’s best to dry them before eating. You can let them air-dry on a clean towel for a day or two, or dry them in the oven at a very low temperature until they’re fully dry and lightly crisp again, though to be honest I've never done this.

Nuts are wonderfully nourishing whether soaked or not, so it really comes down to personal preference and what fits you best 💛

Hey there, TT! Soaking beans and nuts can reduce some nutrient content, but it also helps remove antinutrients like phytic acid, making the remaining nutrients more absorbable.

For boiling foods like potatoes, some water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C and B vitamins, can indeed leach into the water. To minimize nutrient loss, we can consider steaming, microwaving, or using the boiling water in soups or stews to retain the nutrients. For most of us though, the overall nutrition of boiled foods is enough with other balanced food choices 😊

Hey Tina, we don't personally soak nuts and seeds if we're roasting or baking them, and mainly soak them if we're snacking on them as-is.

If you'd like to cook your nuts after soaking them you're welcome to and you could use either the oven or dehydrator though. Dehydrators provide a gentler and more controlled drying process, so perhaps this could preserve the nutrients and flavours of the nuts more effectively 🤗

Hey there, Pam, a warm welcome to PUL 💛 Draining and rinsing canned beans indeed reduces salt. Some recipes may say to add the water from the tin for flavour or other properties. For example, the water from chickpea tins called "aquafaba" can act as an egg substitute in various recipes. We hope this helps for now and we're excited to continue this journey together!

Hey there, Dorothy, soaking rice can indeed improve its nutritional value, making some nutrients easier to absorb 😊

WOW thank you, this is very interesting

Hey there, Ariba, thanks for the questions and patience! If you'd like to soak seeds overnight before roasting that would help with the absorption of nutrients, although roasting on its own is thought to help break down some anti-nutrients due to the heat!

Roasting seeds can impact some nutrients. For example, some heat-unstable nutrients such as B vitamins and carotenoids are lower in roasted seeds than in raw counterparts. Heat-stable nutrients, such as fibre, protein, and minerals tend to be similar. Other nutrients, such as phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant properties may improve after roasting🙂

We don't personally soak seeds if we're roasting or baking them, and mainly soak them if we're just snacking on them as-is. If you want to get rid of as many anti-nutrients though, 1,2, and then 3 would get be the order. Seeds are still incredibly wholesome whether or not they’re been soaked or roasted, so we’d suggest doing whatever works best for your schedule and lifestyle!

Hey Sabrina, thanks for trusting PUL! Kidney beans contain a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin that can be harmful if not cooked properly. Soaking them and cooking them well, for example for at least 10 minutes, helps make sure they're safe to eat. You can also opt for canned varieties since these are processed at a high temperature and pressure which destroys toxins. A healthcare professional near you may be able to provide more insight and personalized advice if you'd like 🤗

Hi, Lisa, aw you're too kind! Thank you for helping make the PUL community so incredible 💛

Hey there, Leon, yes if we're using steel-cut oats we tend to soak them overnight. This helps to improve our body's ability to absorb the nutrients in the oats, and it cooks faster too, which is a bonus! If using quick or rolled oats, we wouldn't necessarily soak them if we're making something like overnight oats or granola. It's up to you as well based on what's accessible and preferred. I hope this helps for now 😊

Hello - thanks for this article. Should you discard the soaking liquid after soaking oats or is that just pulses? I've read elsewhere it's alright to keep the soaking liquid (this is what I've been doing with overnight oats soaked in milk) Want to make sure I get it right!! Thanks very much

Hey there, Juliet, for us personally it depends on the type of oats we're using! If we're using steel-cut oats (which are more fibrous than quick or rolled oats), we typically soak overnight and then drain the liquid the next morning. If using rolled oats, then we wouldn't necessarily discard the liquid. There's usually not much liquid to drain anyways with overnight oats so totally okay to enjoy as 😃

Hey there, Katia, we typically soak uncovered and on the counter if it's only an overnight soak, but if soaking for longer, we'd recommend popping a lid on it and placing it in the fridge🙂

Hi DMF, so glad the article was helpful and thank you for sharing your mom's approach 😃

Hey Viji, thanks for sharing your personal connection with it! We'd recommend working with a nutrition professional, such as a registered dietitian for personalized advice. In the meantime, we'll note down a request for content on FODMAPs and you may find the information from Monash University interesting if you haven't already seen it: https://www.monashfodmap.com/ 😊

Hi there, Josie, thanks for the question 😃 We typically don't soak nuts if we're roasting or baking them. For example, if they're used in a granola recipe or to make candied nuts. We mainly only soak nuts if we're snacking on them as-is, or if we're using them in dressings or sauces, although we don't necessarily do this all the time. Nuts are incredibly wholesome whether or not they’ve been soaked, so we’d suggest doing whatever works best for your schedule and lifestyle!

Well explained. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Hey Vikas, thank you! That's a lovely question. It's thought that roasting can get rid of anti-nutrients, although possibly not as effectively as soaking for phytic acid. Here's a sample research paper on the topic: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29580…. For some nuts, the impact of soaking is still mixed as well (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32199…).

In case you're interested, we generally don't soak nuts if we're roasting or baking them. We mainly only soak them if we're just snacking on them as-is. Not necessary to do it all the time, though. We hope this helps for now, Vikas 😊

Hi Mariam, a lovely question! We usually don't soak our nuts or seeds if we're roasting or baking them, and mainly soak them if we're just snacking on them as-is. If you add raw nuts/seeds to your oatmeal, then soaking them together sounds great!

Thank you! :)

Glad the article was helpful, Abigail :)

Hey Vanessa, thanks for the question! Lentils are one of our favourites to experiment with 🙂 The main types include black, red, yellow, green, and brown lentils although there are various types. In general, lentils are a delicious option to help boost protein, fibre, and other nutrients such as zinc or iron. We'll note down a suggestion for an article to chat more about them. In the meantime, you might find our protein, zinc, or iron articles helpful if you're interested and haven't already seen them: pickuplimes.com/article/prote…, pickuplimes.com/article/zinc-…, pickuplimes.com/article/iron-…

Hi there, Mary, thanks for the questions! Grains tend to expand in size when soaking as they absorb a bit of the water they are soaking in. Generally, we discard the soaked water before cooking. I hope this helps for now 😊

Hi there, Lisa, thanks for the question! Soaking indeed will help decrease the cooking time, and also decreases the amount of liquid needed compared to the original recipe. For steel-cut oats, you could half the cooking time and use around 15-30% less liquid if using soaked oats when recipe instructions don't account for soaking. In general, 1 cup of soaked steel-cut oats to 2 cups water and/or plant-based milk should work well. You may be interested in our Classic Creamy Steel-Cut Oatmeal recipe (pickuplimes.com/recipe/classi…) if you haven't already seen it 🙂

We do provide liquid and cooking time recommendations in more depth in our Jumpstart Guide. You can find more information here: pickuplimes.com/newsletter if desired. We hope this helps for now 🤗

Hi Ciara, thanks for the question! No need to soak for canned legumes or grains. Indeed we do recommend to drain and give the legumes or grain a good rinse before using and then you're good to go☺️

Hey there, Mia, thank you for the lovely questions and patience in us responding! Your English is incredible ☺️

If soaked for extended periods of time, you may find that legumes or nuts and seeds ferment, sprout, or get overly soggy. The limit for soaking may depend on a few factors, such as what's being soaked and the temperature. We'd recommend ensuring that foods (especially beans) are soaked in the fridge if a longer soak is desired to prevent them from spoiling. An alternative that may be more food safe is removing soaked legumes from the soaking water, thoroughly drying them, and then storing them in an airtight container in the fridge for ~4 days. If you smell anything sour it's a sign to discard the batch 🙂

We haven't had a chance to test out canning beans recently so I've noted it down as a suggestion for future PUL content. In the meantime, it may be worthwhile to look into pressure canners to ensure food safety 🌻 We hope this helps for now!

Hey Gladys, it's a great question! I personally do both, but it depends on the type of oats we're using. If using steel-cut oats (which is has a more fibrous outer coat compared to rolled oats), I always prefer to soak these overnight and then drain - so option (1) you mentioned. This helps to improve our body's ability to absorb the nutrients in the oats, and it cooks faster too, which is a bonus. If using regular old-fashioned rolled oats, I wouldn't necessarily soak and then discard, but what you mentioned in option (2) is great in that the soaking can still help to break down some of the anti-nutrients. Rolled oats are already pre-steamed and pressed, so I find when I soak them overnight there's hardly anything left to drain anyway as it soaks most of the liquid right up. So totally alright to enjoy as is. I hope this helps for now 😊

Hey there, Dana, thanks for the question! If we are soaking nuts, we usually use unsalted water. We generally don't soak nuts if we're roasting or baking them - for example if used in a granola recipe or to make candied nuts. We mainly only soak nuts if we're just snacking on them as-is, or if we're using them in dressings or sauces, although we don't necessarily do this all the time. You can of course dry them out in the oven as you mentioned too if you prefer 😊 It'd definitely help increase their storage life a bit. I hope this helps for now!

Hi, as you mentioned you don't soak nut if you are roasting or baking them. So I wonder do the roasted nut without soaking don't have the benefit from soaking as soaked nut?
Thank you
Tram

Hi Tram, a wonderful question! If you'd like to soak the nuts overnight before roasting that would help with the absorption of nutrients in the nuts, although roasting on its own is thought to help break down some anti-nutrients (such as phytates and tannins) due to the heat!

Nuts are still incredibly wholesome whether or not they’re been soaked, so we’d suggest doing whatever works best for your schedule and lifestyle 😊

Hi Esther, that's a really great question! For soaking oats, it may depend on the type of oats used. For steel-cut oats, we do soak them overnight in water, then drain the water before cooking in plant-based milk.

If we're using old-fashioned rolled oats, we generally do one of two things: 1) Don't soak them overnight at all, and just cook it in the morning in plant-based milk, or 2) Soak overnight in milk in the fridge, and then cook it on the stove in the morning to heat it up. We hope this helps for now and happy cooking 😃

Thank you so much, that helps a lot!
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Hey I wanted to know whether water in which figs are soaked can be taken or not. Does that water have something that inhibit digestion . Like I soak almonds and walnuts and throw the water . What should I do with figs water?

Hey Subhashini, generally we discard the soaked water but you could use it if you'd like. This water may contain some of the nutrients and natural sugars that leach out from figs during soaking, making it slightly sweet and flavorful. There isn't a lot of evidence to suggest it would inhibit digestion 😊