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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Healthy Living / What Temperature Destroys Food Enzymes?

What Temperature Destroys Food Enzymes?

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

food enzymes

My article and video on soaking raw nuts caused a bit of a stir with readers. Nothing new for this blog, as challenging the status quo is something that happens regularly in these parts!

In that video, I demonstrate how to properly soak raw nuts in brine water and then dry them in a warm oven set at 150 °F/66 °C.

This practice deactivates anti-nutrients and ensures maximum digestibility and nutrient absorption and is in accordance with the wise preparation methods of Traditional Cultures like the Aztecs.

Numerous comments on the post itself, my YouTube Channel, email, and Facebook have insisted that drying nuts at 150 °F/66 °C is far too high and that the food enzymes are destroyed.

So, what’s the truth?  Are nuts dried in a warm oven set at 150 °F/66 °C still raw or not?

The confusion seems to rest with the difference between wet heat and dry heat. When a liquid food like milk is heated, you will find that you burn your finger at a temperature of 118 °F/48 °C.

If the milk is heated only to 117 °F/47 °C, you will not burn yourself and this is nature’s magical way of letting us know that the food still has all of its enzymes intact. Hence, low temp or vat pasteurized milk heated to 145 °F/63 °C is still just as dead as regularly pasteurized milk heated to 160+ °F, despite rumors to the contrary. This is true even if it is non-homogenized, aka “cream top” milk.

Food enzymes and probiotics withstand dry heat much better than wet heat. According to food scientist Dr. Mary Enig, she writes in this article:

All enzymes are deactivated at a wet-heat temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dry-heat temperature of about 150 degrees [66 °C].

It is one of those happy designs of nature that foods and liquids at 117 degrees [47 °C] can be touched without pain, but liquids over 118 degrees [48 °C] will burn. Thus we have a built-in mechanism for determining whether or not the food we are eating still contains its enzyme content.

I hope this information clears up the confusion about drying raw nuts in the oven and whether or not the food enzymes are still intact. It is especially important to harness the convenience of drying large batches of raw food in the oven as not everyone has access to or can afford a large dehydrator.

If you are still unconvinced, dry out a batch of soaked nuts in a 150 °F/66 °C oven and then eat a handful straight out of the oven. You will be delighted to see that the nuts are not hot and that you do not burn your hand or mouth, an indication that the food enzymes are indeed preserved.

By the way, stainless steel dehydrators are much safer to use than plastic ones if you choose to go that route.

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Category: Healthy Living
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (77)

  1. kay cano

    Nov 30, 2016 at 11:06 am

    If soured raw milk is safe to use, due to the enzyms, is it still safe when heated, even if enzymes are destroyed

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Nov 30, 2016 at 5:40 pm

      It’s fine for cooking.

  2. Kelly

    Feb 6, 2015 at 11:05 am

    Hello everyone, I am very new to dehydrating and was hoping this question is not too basic. Are eg mangos and potatos classed as wet heat? When I did some research on drying mangos a few people said 135F keeps the enzymes in tact and this takes well over 12+ hours as it is, (my slices are not paper thin but not thick either) so I hate to think how long it would take at 117F. I also tried to make kale chips, with a tiny bit of olive oil and tamari and these took between 3 – 4 hours at 135F too and some were not even crunchy at 4 hours. Does anyone know how long potatos and mangos are suppose to take at 117F? Any help would be very much appreciated as I am confused. Also do dehydrators brands vary in regards to the temperature?

    Reply
    • Nicole

      Sep 21, 2015 at 5:03 pm

      I dehydrate everything at 115, and just let it go for as many hours as it takes….usually at least 12 hours.

  3. Jeanmarie

    May 19, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    Thanks, Sarah, this is good to know. My faithful dehydrator finally gave out a few months ago and I haven’t had the money for a new one. My crispy nut supply is getting low. Now I’m brave enough to try it in our oven.

    Reply
  4. Katie

    Jul 31, 2013 at 8:57 pm

    Hey Sara,

    I don’t quite understand. If “All enzymes are deactivated at a wet-heat temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dry-heat temperature of about 150 degrees, then wouldn’t the enzymes in your nuts be deactivating since your oven is at 150 degrees. I know you said they don’t burn your hand but according to mary enig, they have reached deactivation temperature. Is that correct?

    Thank you,

    Katie

    Reply
  5. Brittany Ardito

    Oct 18, 2012 at 3:48 pm

    Thank you for clearing that up Sarah. I am so thankful that you posted a video of how to successfully dehydrate nuts in the oven as I do not yet have a dehydrator and those can be pricey. Hoping for one as a Christmas present this year though 🙂

    Reply
  6. Linda

    Jul 27, 2012 at 9:31 am

    I have a question about fermented tea. Around here (Maine) people used to pick teaberry leaves (checkerberry/wintergreen) and ferment them in water, then dry for use in winter for tea. My question is: Does pouring boiling water over dried fermented leaves destroy the benefits of fermentation?

    Reply
    • Kris Johnson

      Jul 27, 2012 at 12:14 pm

      I imagine that the fermenting process breaks down certain molecules in the tea leaves to make them more accessible or change the taste. Heating wouldn’t hurt that. I doubt that live enzymes or microbes that might be killed by heat are of importance.

  7. Scarlett

    Jul 23, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    Thanks for posting this, what a great clarification. I currently have an electric oven that has a low setting of 170 degrees. I have been using that setting to dry my ‘crispy nuts’ and have found that I don’t burn myself eating them right out of the oven. I know its not as ideal as the recommend 150, but if anyone else is dealing with the same restriction I’d definitely say go for it, as its better than eating them completely raw or roasted to oblivion. I tend to open up the oven frequently to shake up the nuts and hope that it brings down the temperature a bit too.

    Reply
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