Wanted to share this info, for what it's worth. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[www.amazon.com]
Product Description
10 (1 Lb) Resealable Packages of quality almonds from California. Nonpareil variety (no shell). The very best in size and quality. Buy direct from the Farmer ! It is required by law that almonds grown and sold in the United States must be pasteurized. The almonds we sell are pasteurized by H2O Express with dry steam. The almonds are put into a sealed chamber where the temperature, pressure and steam are controlled by a computer system. The almonds are not cooked. They will sprout when you soak them in water. We also randomly test for taste and sprouting

Have you ever heard of the method they use? After including shipping, I think I paid about $5.20 per lb. I can't remember what they charge at Whole Foods but it's at least $5.99 or $6.99. And supposedly these SPROUT. What I can vouch for is the flavor--very fresh-tasting. They are smaller than the almonds I am used to but who cares? A pound is a pound, right?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2012 11:46PM by banana who.

someone posted that the almonds they got from trader joe's sprouted.

Hey UT, I have bought the Spanish almonds from TJ's but these taste way fresher! Like I cracked open some nuts myself!

awesome! yay!

cool beans Bananawho are you gonna try sprouting some to see what happens?

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

The Spanish almonds are called 'marcona' I've never seen them on the US raw. They sell them at Costco but roasted

You can buy raw almonds online!

THeSt0rm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> it says in one of the reviews that these are
> pasteurized..


LOL- the "review" by someone who never ate them and is just speculating? The owner wrote me and explained the process (*whoosh*) and I was still a bit skeptical but even the other ones--look and see how much they cost.

Jodi: How do I tell if almonds have sprouted? You're only supposed to do it for 24 hours, right? So they won't grow a tail or anything, correct? I remember several years ago soaking some almonds and then putting them in a smoothie recipe found on here (before I started posting) and it was yucky! I wonder if they were cooked and I just made them go bad?

Hey Bananawho check out the pic on this site .. i have actually had mine sprout the wee little nubby tail but i soak mine for 2-3 days usually

[flavoursforu.blogspot.ca]

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thanks, Jodi. I will test it for myself.

The Storm--Was there a reason why you reposted the product description? It says they sprout and test for it regularly.

banana who, where the more expensive almonds at Whole Foods organic or commercially grown?

Prana, I will double-check but WF doesn't seem to sell many varieties of nuts. They have their 365 brand, as well as organic in the bins. The 365 ones are from California. Trader Joe's sells some from Spain I have bought in the past and I know that Europe does not require pasteurization but I heard that they irradiate imported stuff to keep it from spoiling so God only knows what's up with that...

All I can say for sure is that since the law for almonds went into place, these are the freshest I have tasted.

IMO the spanish almonds suck! Go on line and buy raw! I used to get the most incredible almonds from one of the Capay Canyon Ranches but now they won't sell raw and won't sell to the public. They were really rude to me when I called them and they hung up on me twice. I supported those jerk-offs for years and they hung up on me. I buy tons of nuts and I don't know if I would ever buy from them again. Just buy raw and don't bother with all the idiots with their new technology to ruin our food. Most of all everyone should pitition for the raw almond movement!!!!!!! put up or shut up.

Almonds are an amazing nut in regards to health, infact they even are a good prebiotic. Good source of vitamin E too and heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids.

Very versatile too in regards to taste, i use them in my raw brownies and even in sauces.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2012 06:32PM by powerlifer.

They are great but they suck if you have herpes. Horrible lysine to arginine ratio.

powerlifer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Almonds are an amazing nut in regards to health,
> infact they even are a good prebiotic. Good source
> of vitamin E too and heart healthy monounsaturated
> fatty acids.
>
> Very versatile too in regards to taste, i use them
> in my raw brownies and even in sauces.
>
> [www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

HH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They are great but they suck if you have herpes.
> Horrible lysine to arginine ratio.
>
> powerlifer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

Very true, this is where individual concerns relate to nutrition. But one diet doesn't work for all lol.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

rzman10001 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> IMO the spanish almonds suck! Go on line and buy
> raw! I used to get the most incredible almonds
> from one of the Capay Canyon Ranches but now they
> won't sell raw and won't sell to the public. They
> were really rude to me when I called them and they
> hung up on me twice. I supported those jerk-offs
> for years and they hung up on me. I buy tons of
> nuts and I don't know if I would ever buy from
> them again. Just buy raw and don't bother with
> all the idiots with their new technology to ruin
> our food. Most of all everyone should pitition
> for the raw almond movement!!!!!!! put up or shut
> up.


As I said before, I believe these to be raw, "technology" or not. I am not paying $15 a pound for so-called raw almonds; ain't gonna happen. If money is no object for you, then get down and boogie. For me, I choose to try these and I am already happy just from the taste. I have bought treated "raw" almonds in the past and they tasted off. These taste very fresh. I will also try sprouting them to see what happens. According to the product info, they should do so, unless these people are complete pathological liars and I do not think so.

I have successfully sprouted blanched almonds from the bulk store; they produced small tails, and tasted sweet, almost like fresh water chestnuts. So perhaps almonds are more durable than we've been led to believe.

Tam, the owner said that the process barely touches the actual almond and so they stay raw. I am shocked, though, that blanched almonds would sprout. I mean, dipping in boiling water and skins off? That is pretty amazing.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rzman10001 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > IMO the spanish almonds suck! Go on line and
> buy
> > raw! I used to get the most incredible almonds
> > from one of the Capay Canyon Ranches but now
> they
> > won't sell raw and won't sell to the public.
> They
> > were really rude to me when I called them and
> they
> > hung up on me twice. I supported those
> jerk-offs
> > for years and they hung up on me. I buy tons
> of
> > nuts and I don't know if I would ever buy from
> > them again. Just buy raw and don't bother
> with
> > all the idiots with their new technology to
> ruin
> > our food. Most of all everyone should pitition
> > for the raw almond movement!!!!!!! put up or
> shut
> > up.
>
>
> As I said before, I believe these to be raw,
> "technology" or not. I am not paying $15 a pound
> for so-called raw almonds; ain't gonna happen. If
> money is no object for you, then get down and
> boogie. For me, I choose to try these and I am
> already happy just from the taste. I have bought
> treated "raw" almonds in the past and they tasted
> off. These taste very fresh. I will also try
> sprouting them to see what happens. According to
> the product info, they should do so, unless these
> people are complete pathological liars and I do
> not think so.


Yes, unfortunately we have to consider cost, I apologize for my irritation with our situation concerning the food industry. And yes some almonds will sprout and they are pretty hardy concerning being treated. I am guessing that some of these processers are cheating a little bit on the treatment wich is good for us. Whoop Whoop have a nice day.

banana who,

Yes, it did make me wonder what alternate ways there are to commercially blanch almonds, but couldn't confirm anything with the store. Dealing direct with a grower does have advantages, but up here in the Great Lakes region, we gotta do what we gotta do. Your purchase sounds like a good deal

This is the most confusing thing I have ever read. First of all, what is the TEMPERATURE that they use to heat these? Secondly, I have heard how lots of cooked nuts sprout anyhow. Thirdly, this is what I am hearing:

We heat and cook
that is the meaning of pasteurization
but it is raw
because it sprouts

something does not jive here
why don't they include temperature

also, i thought the entire point of "pasteurization" was to kill any and every chance of anything surviving on it ... this would definitely mean to cook it...

if they have added heat to such an extent that it is just to comply with the law, it is still not complying because pasteurization, i believe , is a high degree of heat

what are they doing?

this makes no sense

sorry, but i'm just wanting clarification

i'm glad the price is good
and it tastes great

but just curious, why don't they list the temperature?

they even list the temperature in certain olive oils to cater to raw foodists

LaV, you definitely bring up some great points. I wrote to the company and they told me some mumbo jumbo that I cannot produce at will. The bottom line is that they claim they are able to treat the surface without affecting the inside. I was skeptical but due to the other rave reviews I decided to give it a whirl. I mean, after shipping it was $52.00 for 10 lbs. I felt I didn't have too much to lose because I would still be saving money and the worst that would happen is that I would have to eat cooked "raw" nuts.

However, my guy finally tried them yesterday (I packed some in his lunch) and RAVED about the flavor! He said (as I have before) that he never liked raw almonds until now.

You can cook only the surface. Cooking starts at ~ 250F where reactions start to take place. Before that, water comes out and the surface doesn't even change color much. The thing to remember is that the temperature is incremental. If you cook an almond at 250F, it may take 20 minutes before the center of the almond reaches 250F. So, if they cook it for only one minute, only the surface would change color.

TheStorm: Hmmm...I am not sure it's the same. Blanching douses them in boiling water to slip off the skins. Wouldn't the heat penetrate deeply, due to immersion?

If they're not organic as it seems like they're not, it's not even worth getting. You don't need to buy almonds that use any form of steam/heat. The farmers that do it correctly, don't clean them at all, but leave it up to the customer to do this. They're allowed to sell them up to 100 lb per customer per day this way.

Simple Raw Recipes & Health Tips

yes yes.....;it seems lots of people have gotten their nuts to "swell" but I have truly never actually gotten any nuts to sprout per se. I've gotten the swollen little tail on almonds before, but nothing actually leads me to believe that these are actually raw because the tail never advances as if it were alive.
so in my opinion we may all be running around eating questionable nuts. you show me a living almond baby tree, and I will believe they are truly raw.

wouldn't "in shell" almonds be raw? I know they are impossible to roast/pausterize with the shell in.

[www.amazon.com]

Gilmore Girl: Why do you say that? You mention whether they are organic, but since they are in the shell, that is not a huge concern of mine. And of course, 'raw' and 'organic' are totally different terms. You can have one without the other. And yes, I am aware that it's possible to order really raw nuts online (if they're telling the truth, of course). But are they $5.20 a pound? Uknowwhatimsayin'?

hey banana who
thanks for the response
interesting
hmmm..... and , taking into account what panchito said too
something to ponder
never was aware of that sort of technology
that just heated the surface
and it didn't penetrate the inside
interesting
wonder what its called
any links to that?
the world gets more and more interesting
as laws get more and more insane