some foods, almonds, for example, naturally contain enzyme inhibitors that interfere with our digestion. and since raw foodist love enzymes, they get rid of the inhibitor by soaking the almonds in water for many hours to effectively leach out the offending inhibitors. they must be rinsed thoroughly because the stuff we want out is still in the soaking water. the water can also be changed during the soaking process. i like to eat the softer almonds, their texture is really interesting. but if you keep them wet, they should be eaten within a few days so they don't go bad (refrigerate). alternatively, they can be dried again, such as in a food dehydrator, to be nearly the same as before, just without the inhibitors.
Sprouting is a magical thing. the grains, nuts or legumes (not all type will sprout) are soaked for a time, say overnight, and rinsed and left to sit in a warm, dark place. they need to be rinsed with water about twice a day so they dont dry out entirely. You are basically doing the same thing as planting a seed out in the garden! The seed starts to germinate and the food is coming to life. The act of sprouting turns starchy foods like wheat, into living vegetables. and dramatically increases the amount of protein and vitamins in the food to dozens or hundreds times more than was in the original dried bean or nut. This is one reason that sprouts are very popular with vegans and vegetarians, they need non-meat sources of protein. there are many gadgets that you can use to accomplish sprouting (drip trays, metal mesh lids that screw onto jars...) but i've been able to do it with just a bowl and a colander, or even straining the water to by pouring it through my hands.
sprouts need to be eaten before the grow moldy, our use up their own energy stores and stop growing.
another reason we might soak it to simply soften hard beans and nuts so they can be eaten. in the case of raw cheeses made from cashews, they are soaked so they can be put in a blender or food processor and whipped into a soft mash. there are probably enzyme things happening there too, but the soaking is necessary just to make the recipe.
oh yeah, there are some things, flax and buckwheat come to mind, that create a mucilage when soaked. so when you soak these, the water turns into a sort of slime. it sounds gross, but that quality can be used to help "glue" ingedients together like when making a cracker. flax can be soaked overnight and then blended to mimic the thick quality of oatmeal.
There are many instructional directions for sprouting available on many websites, i'm sure you can find completely directions as well as complete lists of foods that can be sprouted.
but i know these are some popular sprouts:
clover ( these are the ones you see on sandwiches)
mung bean ( the white tubes in asian stir-fry dishes or Vietnamese Pho soup)
adzuki
alfalfa
radish, brocolli, other garden veggies that can be eaten when they are just the first little leaves
lentils ( i found this one very easy and yummy)
lentil sprouts
i'm soaking millet and quinoa for crackers right now. even if they don't germinate, no harm with come from soaking and it will make it easy for the blender to open up the seeds and make more of the inner nutritional content available for digestion. actually i do want them to start sprouting because then they will be less like starch, and more like vegetables.
