The Step You Shouldn't Skip For The Best Roasted Nuts

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" is not just a lyric in a popular holiday song. Homemade roasted nuts are a tasty and nutritious snack that you can whip up with relative ease. When roasting your own nuts, there are a few golden rules you should follow, including the often-forgotten step of soaking them in water before putting them to the fire.

Before you start roasting nuts, leave them to soak in water in a sealed glass container for at least three hours in the refrigerator. How long it takes for them to fully soak will vary between different types of nuts. To be safe, you can leave them overnight and roast them the next day. Soaking nuts before roasting makes them much tastier and more tender than they would be otherwise. Many nuts, particularly almonds and walnuts, contain bitter-tasting tannins in their skins. Soaking before roasting pecans on the stovetop or chestnuts on a literal open fire will help remove those tannins and their bitter flavor.

There are also claims that soaking nuts before roasting makes them easier to digest. These are dubious, though, so don't place too much trust in sources that overstate such health claims. Nutritional science is a relatively new field that is always evolving, so always do thorough research when it comes to nutrition and diet health.

Supposedly, soaking nuts begins their germination process, causing them to start to sprout and "activate" them, which increases their nutrient content. At the same time, it allegedly removes phytic acids; these acids can reduce nutrient bioavailability by binding to certain minerals like calcium and zinc, as well as inhibiting enzymes that help break down proteins.

When it comes to foods, health claims like walnuts improving sleep quality are often overblown, and it would appear that it's the case here as well. According to scientific studies like research published in a 2020 edition of Food Chemistry, there's very little difference in levels of phytates (what phytic acid becomes after binding to minerals) between soaked and unsoaked nuts. Researchers saw both increases and decreases, but both of which were very minor, and ratios of phytates to minerals saw no improvements. As with many things, more research is needed to make a definitive statement.

It's even possible that soaking nuts decreases their nutritional content. This same study saw a decrease in mineral concentrations, which makes sense if those minerals are being released into the water. Many vitamins and minerals are water-soluble, including some found in nuts like vitamins B and C. However, the difference is still minimal, and nuts are great sources of many nutrients regardless. You can still soak them to improve taste and texture, and they'll be a healthy snack. Just don't put too much faith in their increased health benefits compared to unsoaked nuts.