Hot raw food, although it might sound like an oxymoron there are in fact a few ways to prepare a raw meal such that it is hot, or at least warm.  Hot food can still be considered raw due to the fact that the enzymes in food don’t break down until food is heated beyond 115F. So if you are getting tired of raw smoothies and salads here is a great way to put some variety in your diet.

Method #1 Raw Food Dehydrator

Using a raw dehydrator is by far the best way to cook hot raw food. A raw food dehydrator is a device that uses very low heat to pull the water out of food so the trick is to keep the temperature under 115F. There are lots of great raw dehydrator recipes out there such as recipes for hot raw crackers and raw cookies.

Method #2 Just add Water

Another way to get a warm raw meal is by cooking using warm water. Heat water to less than 115F and combine with raw food to make wonderful raw soups. This is particularly nice when living in northern climates or a cold day.

Method #3 The finger rule

Another method for preparing a warm raw dish is to use the stove. The trick here is to slowly heat by keeping heat setting on low. As long as you can stick a finger in the dish it is not too hot to kill the enzymes. If you want to be more precise however, you can use a thermometer. This method is great for making delicious warm raw chili.

The dehydrator, cooking with warm water and low heat on the stove are three great ways to have warm raw dishes. These three methods will expand your raw culinary choices and give you lots of fun trying tasty new raw food combinations.