Smooth hazelnut butter?

[Martin Baadsgaard]

First off, sorry if this should have been under pastry and baking.

Was just thinking since it is about making it, and not using it, this would be the place.

When making hazelnut butter, it always comes out grainy for me.

The same goes for the organic type you can buy for insane prices around here.

If I do not have a nut grinder/mill that can do this super fine smooth butter, is there any other way of doing it?

And if not, I have an idea or two, that I would like to hear if anyone has an opinion on before I try them out,

since nuts are expensive, and I'm just a hobbyist, who is also a student on low income.

I am thinking that the graininess comes from wood-like cellwall-reinforcements, which would be bound by mainly pectins and hemicelluloses.

So I was thinking of grinding them roughly, and boiling them in slightly alkaline water, to soften this up, like with vegetables.

Or, treating them with pectinase.

Then rinse and roast in oven untill golden, and blend till smooth.

Only problem is that the nut is mainly fat. I was thinking that that would probably, mostly, stay within the nuts, and not leak out, thus also keeping the flavor.

But I guess it would also limit the dissolving of pectins and hemicellulose, or the the activity of the pectinase, to the surface of the nut pieces.

So, what are people's gut feelings and/or obvious answers to this idea?

[pastrygirl]

You could strain it.

Edited May 25, 2013 by pastrygirl (log)

[Martin Baadsgaard]

WHat would you use for that? It seems way too thick to force through anything fine enough to catch the small grains.

[andiesenji]

Try steaming the hazelnuts rather than boiling them directly in water.

Steam them first for about 10-15 minutes and then spread them on a sheet pan in the oven - 275° F. for about 20 - 30 minutes.

I've also used this method with Brazil nuts which also tend to be a bit grainy.

I would recommend you buy a food grinder like this one that INCLUDES the NUT BUTTER blade - (the one on the left next to the card).

Sometimes the old ways really work.

[pastrygirl]

WHat would you use for that? It seems way too thick to force through anything fine enough to catch the small grains.

What are you using to grind your nuts now? I make hazelnut praline paste for pastry use, which is 2 parts by weight toasted hazelnuts and 1 part powdered sugar. I process it all in the robot coupe for a long time. It gets pretty hot and releases a lot of oil, turning out runny enough to pass through a chinoise. It takes a little effort but it's not that bad. I don't know how the sugar affects viscosity, I've never made it without. How hot the nuts get during grinding may also affect viscosity, not sure, but I figure they are toasted anyway and are not getting hotter than that.

[Martin Baadsgaard]

Try steaming the hazelnuts rather than boiling them directly in water.

Steam them first for about 10-15 minutes and then spread them on a sheet pan in the oven - 275° F. for about 20 - 30 minutes.

I've also used this method with Brazil nuts which also tend to be a bit grainy.

I would recommend you buy a food grinder like this one that INCLUDES the NUT BUTTER blade - (the one on the left next to the card).

Sometimes the old ways really work.

I will try that as a first thing. Could be nice if heat in and by itself could do the trick. I was thinking that the tough tissue had to "dissolve" in something, but I guess that doesn't have to be the case.

And yea, I would LOVE a grinder like that! I have been looking around, but here in Denmark they are more than rare, and import taxes are massive.

I would love one like the one you linked to, but I can never find anyone who ships to Denmark, or isn't demanding over $100+ for it

WHat would you use for that? It seems way too thick to force through anything fine enough to catch the small grains.

What are you using to grind your nuts now? I make hazelnut praline paste for pastry use, which is 2 parts by weight toasted hazelnuts and 1 part powdered sugar. I process it all in the robot coupe for a long time. It gets pretty hot and releases a lot of oil, turning out runny enough to pass through a chinoise. It takes a little effort but it's not that bad. I don't know how the sugar affects viscosity, I've never made it without. How hot the nuts get during grinding may also affect viscosity, not sure, but I figure they are toasted anyway and are not getting hotter than that.

I use an old food processor that I "inherited".

It has a lot more crushing power than my newer Philips food processor, so it works well with nuts.

The result is shiny with the consistency like stirred organic peanut butter. So it doesn't really run anywhere.

Thanks for the suggestion though, tells me something about what should be possible.

So I should maybe focus more on finding the right equipment, than the right method.

But you also get it somewhat grainy?

Edited May 26, 2013 by Martin Baadsgaard (log)

[andiesenji]

Sorry Martin. I did not realize you are in Denmark, as there is no locality identifier under the avatar as we had in earlier versions.

I have some friends in Sweden who are going to be visiting here in So.Cal in July and will see if I can work something out with them. One works for the airline so is able to sometimes transport things (usually dogs) at a discount. I'm sure sending a "gift" from Sweden to Denmark wouldn't be difficult or too expensive. I've sent an item to Iceland a few years ago and it worked out nicely.

Will keep in touch - I bought the grinder.

The only other suggestion - after the steaming and roasting - would be to break them up in a mortar and pestle and then finish them in the food processor.

I used to use this method to get the process started on macadamia nuts.

Edited May 27, 2013 by andiesenji (log)

[Martin Baadsgaard]

Sorry Martin. I did not realize you are in Denmark, as there is no locality identifier under the avatar as we had in earlier versions.

I have some friends in Sweden who are going to be visiting here in So.Cal in July and will see if I can work something out with them. One works for the airline so is able to sometimes transport things (usually dogs) at a discount. I'm sure sending a "gift" from Sweden to Denmark wouldn't be difficult or too expensive. I've sent an item to Iceland a few years ago and it worked out nicely.

Will keep in touch - I bought the grinder.

The only other suggestion - after the steaming and roasting - would be to break them up in a mortar and pestle and then finish them in the food processor.

I used to use this method to get the process started on macadamia nuts.

Wow! Thankyou, that was really something! I will send you a message with my contact information right away!