Preliminaries:

This was written for general distribution, and may be freely placed on
web sites. I'm not 100% certain, but I think it was never posted to the
old veg-raw, but was/is available in the archives (ftp site, if it is
still operational). This is the nut file that a few posters have mentioned
on raw-food recently.

This is formatted for printout, which was its original distribution method:
66 lines per page, 80 characters per line.

This specific document is a bit old, but most of the information in it is
still accurate. I may update it to add more information at some time in
the future, but cannot make any committments as to timing.

I hope you find the following interesting.

Tom Billings
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****ATTACHMENT:****


NUT PROCESSING: NOTES
What a raw-fooder should know about nuts

by Thomas E. Billings

Copyright (c) 1994 by Thomas E. Billings.  This document may be distributed
freely for non-commercial purposes provided 1) this copyright notice is
included, 2) the document is distributed free of charge, with the sole
exception that a photocopy charge, not to exceed ten cents (U.S.) per printed
page may be charged by those distributing this paper. All commercial
rights reserved; contact author for details.

1.0  Introduction
The purpose of this short paper is to present information on how nuts
are processed, so raw-fooders can make informed decisions regarding the
purchase and consumption of nuts. Each major nut has a section, and a
section may have up to 3 separate parts. The first part is informational, and
describes standard commercial processing practices for that nut. Much
of the information comes from Rosengarten, with additional material
from other sources (see reference list at end). The next part, labelled
"Remarks:",  is information from this writer's perspective and experience.
The last part, labelled "Recommendations:", provides the *opinions* of
this writer concerning the nut, specifically whether the nut is suitable
for a raw-food diet.

Given the above structure, some disclaimers must be made, as follows.
1. Although much of the information here comes from published sources,
the most recent data is from Rosengarten, 1984. Any changes in practices
since then are not reflected here.
2. Organic nuts, in some cases, *may* be processed differently. You can
contact your supplier for details (verbal assurances from health food
store employees are of very dubious value; write to the supplier instead).
3. Regarding "Remarks" and "Recommendations"; you might agree or disagree
with these. Ultimately, only *you* decide what you eat (and don't eat).
4. This is edition number 1, and should be considered a work-in-progress.
Comments and corrections may be sent to the author, at the contact
address given (see end of paper).  If there is sufficient interest, new,
revised editions will be released.

2.0  Viability versus Sproutability
The ultimate test of whether a seed is alive or not, is its viability,
i.e. whether it will sprout and grow into a new plant. But here
we observe that nuts sprout according to nature's timetable, which
means that some perfectly viable nuts are not sproutable from the
raw-fooder perspective.  Example: macadamia nuts require 30-60 (or
more) days to sprout. Even if you could get (in-shell) macadamias
to sprout for you, the nut would be rancid/rotten by the time the
root sprout appeared!

A fresh, whole, truly raw nut will be viable after harvest for a certain
period of time. The nut can/will lose viability due to old age (by which
time the nut is probably rancid), excessive heating/cooking, or physical
damage.

As you will see in the sections that follow, many otherwise "raw" nuts
are heated in processing. The heat applied is not sufficient to roast
or boil the nut. However, the heat may be sufficient to remove the
viability of the nut, i.e. to kill the nut and change it from a live
food into a dead food. The result of such processing is a "raw" food that is
dead/sterile.

3.0  Almonds
Most raw-fooders are aware that raw, whole almonds are sproutable.
In fact, sprouted almonds are really delicious, tasting much better than
dry, unsprouted almonds. Blanched almonds may be treated with heat
and/or chemicals and probably won't sprout; use only whole, unblanched
unblanched almonds.

Remarks: Don't sprout the almonds longer than 2 days (1 day works fine
for me), else the sprouts may turn rancid. As for eating the sprouts,
there are 2 schools of thought:
1) almond sprout is a "whole food"; eat the whole thing, including skin
2) almond skins are supposedly very high in natural cyanide; manually
peel the sprouts (discarding skins) before eating.
Although peeling the sprouts is hard work, the peeled sprouts really
taste wonderful. Try it that way and decide for yourself!

Recommendations: buy raw, unblanched, shelled nuts, -or- raw, in-shell
nuts. Eat in sprouted form, preferably peeled.

4.0  Brazil Nuts
Brazil nuts are harvested from wild trees growing in the Amazon River
basin. Due to plant culture difficulties, there are no successful brazil
nut plantations.

The brazil nuts destined for export to the U.S. and other countries are
brought to packing firms in Brazil. There the in-shell nuts are dried
in automatic rotating dryers to achieve a moisture content of 11% (in-
shell) or 6% (shelled).

Nuts are shelled by soaking in water for 24 hours, then *boiled* for 5
minutes to soften the shell. Afterwards, the shells are cracked by hand.
Nuts that are blanched or sliced may be boiled again, before blanching
and/or slicing (boiling softens the oily nut, making it easier to
slice, and easier to remove the skin).

Remarks: not sproutable. Due to the high oil content, the water exposure
in boiling should not cause physical damage to the nut. However, the heat
from boiling will kill the nut and remove its viability.

Recommendations: shelled nuts are cooked/dead. Buy only in-shell, and
shell manually  (tedious and difficult) as needed.

5.0  Cashews
The cashew nut tree is a tropical tree in the plant family Anacardiacae.
Other plants in the same family include the mango, the pistachio, and
some less pleasant plants: poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.

The raw cashew nut is enclosed in a tough, leathery shell that contains
caustic, toxic substances including cardol and anacardic acid (similar
to the "active ingredients" in poison ivy). Despite their unpleasant
nature, these compounds have economic value and are used in industry.
Together they are extracted in processing, as cashew nut shell liquid,
referred to as CNSL.

Thus the challenge in cashew processing is to separate the edible nut
from the toxic CNSL. Because of this, cashews require more extensive
processing than other nuts. From the raw-fooder perspective, the
important points in processing are as follows.
1) Pre-conditioning: the in-shell nuts are piled in heaps and kept wet
with water for 1-2 days, -or- the in-shell nuts are steamed for 8-10
minutes.
2) Pre-treatment: the in-shell nuts are then immersed in a hot oil
bath, kept at 170-200 deg C, for about 90 seconds. The ratio of
volume of oil to volume of raw nuts is 30:1 to 50:1, depending on
equipment used. The oil bath removes some of the CNSL, and conditions
the nut for shelling. Following the oil bath, the nuts may be placed
in a heated centrifuge for further CNSL recovery.
3) Shelling: mechanical or manual (Indian factories use mostly manual
labor)
4) The kernels are then dried to a moisture content of 3%, in special
chambers, at 70 deg C, for about 6 hours.

Remarks: not sproutable; cashews ferment quickly if you try to sprout
them.

Recommendations: the "raw" cashew may be steamed, deep-fried, and
partially baked. They are thoroughly dead; don't buy, don't eat.

6.0  Coconuts
Will briefly mention coconuts for completeness. Coconuts require 4
or more months to sprout, and supermarket coconuts might not sprout
at all. So coconuts might be viable, but are not sproutable.  (If you
really want to sprout a coconut, you will need a fresh raw nut with
its husk intact. Sprouting coconuts are edible.)

The best way to eat coconuts is when they are immature/green. As they
grow, the coconut flesh changes from liquid to a soft jelly, then to
a chewy consistency, and finally to hard flesh. Green coconuts
are available in parts of Florida, and in some produce markets
(where they are imported from Mexico).  Get them at the chewy
stage - wonderful!

7.0  Filberts (Hazelnuts)
Harvested nuts are washed, then dried to 8-10% moisture content.
Rosengarten suggests (but does not explicitly state) that drying temps
do not exceed 100 deg F.

Remark: not sproutable. Soaking in water has little effect on raw,
shelled nuts.

Recommendations: viable but not sproutable. Buy in-shell or raw, shelled.

8.0  Macadamias
Mature macadamia nuts, when harvested, have a high moisture content (as
high as 35% in outer husk, 25% in rest of nut). To prevent mold, the
nuts are mechanically husked, and then the in-shell nuts are dried in
drying ovens to a moisture content of 1.5%.

The nuts are shelled mechanically, then graded. One grading method
that is used involves immersing the shelled nuts in brine, which
requires additional rinses and further oven drying afterwards.

Remarks: not sproutable. Viable, in-shell macadamis require 30-60+ days
to sprout.

Recommendations: viability of nuts depends on drying oven temp.
If less than 100 deg F, the nuts should be viable. If you must buy
macadamias, suggest in-shell, cracking manually in small quantities to
insure freshness.

9.0  Peanuts
Most raw-fooders are aware that raw, unblanched peanuts are sproutable.
The situation is analogous to almonds: sprouted nuts taste much better
than dry, unsprouted; blanched nuts are treated with heat and/or chemicals
and don't sprout reliably.

Remarks: as with almonds, there are 2 schools of thought:
1) peanut sprout is a "whole food"; eat the whole thing, including skin
2) peanut skins are supposedly very high in natural toxins; manually
peel peanut sprouts.  Note here that peeling peanuts is easier than almonds.
Some skins can be removed in dry state, before soaking. The rest come
off "easier" after the peanuts have been soaking in water for 1-2 hours.
Again, the reader is encouraged to try them peeled, and compare
flavor.  Note also that peanuts can harbor toxic molds (aflatoxin). If
your peanuts mold, throw them out! Don't take chances with mold toxins.

Recommendations: buy raw, shelled, unblanched peanuts -or- raw, in-shell.
Eat sprouted, peeled for best taste.

10.0  Pecans
Mechanically harvested pecans have a high moisture content, and are dried,
using warm air (temp <= 100 deg F) to a moisture content of 4.5%. Rosengarten
recommends storing the shelled nuts at 32 deg F, 65% relative humidity.
[Remark: the "meat tray" of some refrigerators approximates these
storage conditions.]

The suprise in pecan processing comes in the shelling stage. The nut shells
are pre-conditioned by soaking in hot water or steaming. FDA regulations
require that adequate heat be applied in pre-conditioning to kill
E. coli bacteria. This is done by soaking the in-shell nuts in  hot,
nearly boiling, water for a few minutes. The nuts are then shelled,
kernels separated out, and dried again in warm air.

Remark: not sproutable.

Recommendations: buy in-shell only; shelled nuts are dead/partially
cooked.

11.0  Pistachios
Pistachios are hulled and dried within 24 hours of harvest. The nuts are
dried with forced air at 150-160 deg F.

Remarks: my own limited experiments with pistachios indicates that they
are not sproutable (at least the U.S. grown nuts I tried were not
sproutable). The nuts I tried to sprout turned mushy/slimy. The pistachio
has a thick skin, which absorbs much water. *If* you can obtain sun-dried
pistachios, and you peel the nuts to remove the thick skin, they *might*
sprout for you. Good luck!

Recommendations: drying temps of 150-160 deg F might be high enough to
kill the nut: viability and sproutability in doubt. Raw pistachios have
flat, bland flavor. Buy almonds instead!

12.0  Pine Nuts (Pignolia/Pinon)
Pine nuts are dried and milled to remove outer skin. The milling process
removes the germ from some nuts, reducing viability.

Remarks: attempts at sprouting pine nuts yielded a bland, slimy result.
Not sproutable.

Recommendation: viability in question; not sproutable.

13.0  Walnuts
Walnuts are dried to a maximum moisture content of 8% to prevent mold
and allow effective shell bleaching. Walnuts designated for in-shell
sale are fumigated or heat treated to kill insects in storage. The
in-shell nuts are then bleached using a dilute solution of sodium
hypochlorite (ordinary household bleach).

Shelled walnuts are not bleached. However they may be treated with
an anti-oxidant to preserve them in storage.

Remarks: not sproutable.

Recommendations: buy organic, in-shell (hoping that organic nuts are
not bleached), or organic, shelled.

14.  Summary: Evaluation of "Raw" Nuts

In the evaluation column below, the following code is used:
   A =  viable *and* sproutable     (alive and active)
   B =  viable but not sproutable   (alive but dormant/passive)
   C =  low or uncertain viability
   D =  not viable, not sproutable  (dead!)

Nut           Format             Evaluation    Comments

Almonds,    shelled, unblanched     A
Almonds,    in-shell                A

Brazil Nut, shelled, unblanched     D
Brazil Nut, in-shell                B

Cashews,    shelled                 D

Coconut,    husked                  B/C        green/immature nuts best

Filberts    shelled, unblanched     B
Filberts,   in-shell                B

Macadamias, shelled                 C
Macadamias, in-shell                C

Peanuts,    shelled, unblanched     A
Peanuts,    in-shell                A

Pecans,     shelled                 D
Pecans,     in-shell                B

Pine Nuts,  milled                  C

Pistachios, shelled, unblanched     C
Pistachios, in-shell                C

Walnuts,    shelled                 B/C        buy organic only
Walnuts,    in-shell                B          buy organic only


15.0  References

       Ohler, J. G.
       Cashew
       Amsterdam : Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, 1979.

       Rosengarten, Frederic.
       The book of edible nuts
       New York : Walker, 1984.

       Woodruff, Jasper Guy (editor)
       Peanuts : production, processing, products
       Westport, Conn. : AVI Pub. Co., c1983.

16.0  Author Contact:

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