How to Sprout Almonds

Why do we need to sprout the almonds? Almonds are difficult to digest because of an enzyme-inhibiting substance in their brown coating. These enzyme inhibitors protect the nut or seed until it has, what it needs for growth. Soaking Almonds overnight removes these toxic enzyme inhibitors so that the enzymes secreted during digestion can do their job, also the gluten breaks down and digestion becomes much easier. Phytic acid which inhibits absorption of vital minerals is also reduced after soaking Almonds. This helps our body get the benefits of vitality contained within them. (Source:Buzzle)

Once the Almonds starts sprouting it has more life force or prana in it. Therefore, it's more sattvic when it's sprouting. Apart from increase in the nutrients, sprouted almonds taste great too.

Soaked and Sprouted Almond

I should have posted this before the almond milk post but I was experimenting to find out the optimum time for the almond to sprout. I have read different methods on the internet but I wanted to find one that would work for me and is easy to follow. Most people mentioned that sprouting Almonds just meant soaking them and you won't get a tail out. Since I believe what I see, I was not ready to call soaked almonds as sprouted.

1st attempt: I soaked the almonds for 24 hours. Placed it in the hot box for another 24 hours. Rinsing the almonds every 12 hours. I was disappointed thinking that it wouldn't sprout and it had started to give an off smell which as mentioned in many articles as normal and goes away with rinsing. After 48 hours, worried that I might end up spoiling all the almonds, I decided to use them and do the experiment some other time. As I blanched the almonds and skinned them to make Almond Milk, I was surprised to see a small tail peeping out. The experiment was successful indeed.

2nd attempt: Soaked almonds for 24hours and kept it in the hot box for 12 hours. It did sprout and I had to rinse the almonds only twice. 

3rd attempt: This is what I found to be the optimum timing with minimum work. If you live in Kerala or somewhere hot and humid, this timing should work well. This is what I have explained below.

Stuff you need:

• Almonds
• Water
• Casserole (Hot pot/Hot box)

Procedure: 

1. Soak Almonds in drinking water for 10 hours.

2. The almonds must have doubled in size by now. Drain the almonds and place it in a casserole or just cover it with a wet towel. Let this sit for 12 hours.

3. After 12 hours you will see white spots at the tip of the almond indicating that it has sprouted. To actually see the sprout break it open and you can see tiny sprouts coming out. Rinse well and it's ready for use.

You can eat them right away as a snack or make almond milk or use them for cooking and baking.

Notes:
1. Seriously you don't really need a hot pot casserole; just covering it with a damp kitchen towel works well. I just learned this from Jeyashri's Kitchen and totally love using the casserole instead of towel.
2. The procedure should work for everyone but there may be variation soaking time etc depending on the weather conditions. If you need to soak longer just make sure you rinse the almonds once in 12 hours and change the water.
3. Never use the water in which the almonds were soaked for cooking etc.
4. You can use the almonds right away or blanch it to remove the skin.
5. Please use raw almonds, the pasteurized ones won't sprout.

I'm sending this to Linky party at Colours Dekor