I have almond butter and peanut butter, but they are both roasted nuts (not raw). Anyway - I asked at a local vegan restaurant if they made raw versions and they said, no theirs is roasted and that raw peanut butter would not taste good at all AND that you have to roast nuts, because they are legumes and if you eat them raw it causes brain scaring!! Anyone know how true this is??

I wish I could give you a more specific answer.

Nuts are not legumes, but peanuts, which are not nuts, are legumes. There are raw nut butters available. I have a jar of raw tahini in the fridge, which is sesame nut butter. You might be able to get raw almond butter. However, legumes, contain a lot of natural toxins that cooking removes. (Soybeans are highly caustic in their raw state and are neutralized with industrial chemicals. They're "all the rage" but you might be consuming unwanted chemicals along with the bean.)

I did a search for "raw legumes" and "brain scarring", and did not come up with much. I would ask these people for sources. :book:

Here's an article on raw legumes and the toxins they carry:
http://www.sproutpeople.com/Political/vegejournal.html

This article is pasted all over the net. I will see if I can find anything more specific. By the way, the raw tahini is good. :)

WOW! Thanks so much for doing so much research for me! You did make alot of sense - I will look at that link now and see what else I can learn. Thanks!

WOW! Thanks so much for doing so much research for me! You did make alot of sense - I will look at that link now and see what else I can learn. Thanks!


Not a problem -- I actually love studying the edibility of plants. :)

Erm, I eat raw peanuts a lot. So far my brain feels fine...

...and, I have a jar of raw almond butter sitting right here...I actually hate roasted almond butter.

I saw raw peanuts being sold in many stores, so they are probably fine.

Red beans on the other hand...

I had a raw peanut before...personally I though that it was nasty.
but yea I'd be careful about eating raw peanuts, I don't believe the brain scarring thing but they can give you an upset stomach

My grandparents grew peanuts, and we would sometimes eat them raw (although people here call them "green" when they are unroasted.) Raw peanuts have a sort of grassy taste, very much like alfalfa sprouts. I don't think they would be good at all ground into peanut butter.

Also, as others have mentioned, they certainly can upset your stomach. For many people, more than just a few raw peanuts will do the trick.

But I do like raw almonds, and I think raw almond butter might be good. Very different from regular roasted almond butter, but not bad.

Oh dude. Raw almond butter is SO much better than roasted almond butter. And SO much better than just raw almonds. Maranatha makes it--you guys should try it, it's sweet and delicious...no sodium, no sugar, just almondy goodness!