•Softer nuts, (e.g. cashews or pecans, hardly need any soaking) just the initial soak/rinse
(as mentioned above with hydrogen peroxide) to remove unwanted molds.
•The harder nuts (e.g. almonds, brazil nuts) need to be soaked for longer (between 6 –
12 hours), after the initial soaking/rinsing.
•Drying soaked nuts keeps them fresh longer, without the enzymes that coat the nuts
(that’s why nuts need rinsing) that inhibit/block digestion. They can take up to 48 hours to fully dehydrate, depending on the size of the nut, the weather (more humidity takes longer), and how long the nut has soaked.
•After a nut has been soaked and dried – it can be ground into a ‘flour’ and used in other recipes.
SEEDS:
•Soak seeds to remove the coating that protects them from automatically sprouting into a plant. If you want you can sprout some seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds)
•If you want to make a flour, soak and dry the seeds so that you can grind them.
•Soaked seeds combine well with all the foods (vegetables, fruits, nuts, or grains) in many dehydrated recipes – they act as a thickener, as well as their own lovely flavors.
•Combine to make ‘cereals’ or granolas.
•The RAW mode is fine for solo seed snacks.
•For crackers/cereals/breads use the COMBO mode.
SPICES:
•When using fresh herbs, remove the stems and stalks or anything else inedible.
•Find, create your own combinations, or look at your favorite spice bottles and use that as a guide.
•Dried spices are done best in the RAW mode.
VEGETABLES:
•Dried vegetables (e.g. carrots, corn, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.) can be great foods to use for soups later in the year, when the food is out of season, or to take on camping/ hiking trips.
•Cut into uniform sizes/shapes when dehydrating.
•Take off skins, seeds, and other unwanted parts before dehydrating.
•Some vegetables (e.g. onions) get more spicy/hot flavored when dehydrated and some get sweeter. Test different foods to see what happens to the foods you enjoy.
•Vegetable ‘chips’ are done best in the RAW mode.
Be your own food ‘alchemist’ and make up your own favorite recipes. Be inspired by recipes, and then create your own.
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