Toasting or otherwise preparing nuts

[alanamoana]

maybe grocery stores cycle through toasted nuts faster than raw nuts due to the human being's inherent laziness.

[HQAntithesis]

I think I recall reading in Figoni's book, How Baking Works, that toasted nuts have a diminished shelf life compared to untoasted.

[GTO]

My crazy theory was right. Which goes off quickest, it's either macadamias or pecans isn't it?

[miladyinsanity]

My crazy theory was right. Which goes off quickest, it's either macadamias or pecans isn't it?

←

Probably macadamias. They have the highest fat content among nuts, if I remember right.

[Wholemeal Crank]

We used to get a sack each of pecans and walnuts from my grandfather's orchard each year, and IIRC they seemed to keep pretty well in the shells, months at least before they would all be shelled and frozen, but in recent years I've had more problems with walnuts bought in shell and already gone off than pecans--even when buying this years' nuts in the fall.

[gulfporter]

Rather than getting out a pan, I decided to test the theory that you can toast nuts in a microwave.  I figured they'd get hot and steamy but not taste toasted.  

 

I threw a handful of large pecan pieces onto a paper plate and zapped them for almost 2 minutes, then let them cool before throwing them into a couscous salad.

 

They tasted toasted, which was a nice surprise.  

[Anna N]

Yes, Kerry Beal taught me this trick some years ago. I find it faster and safer (meaning I am less likely to burn them). 

[Darienne]

I'm up for this one.  Two minutes on high?  What's the power of the above microwaves?

 

[heidih]

Kenji's article at Serious Eats might help  http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/toast-nuts-in-the-microwave.html

 

I tried it with raw peanuts and they just sat there and did not roast - BUT - I did not oil and peanuts are not technically nuts. Have not tried with true nuts yet.

Edited January 2, 2016 by heidih
typo (log)

[gfron1]

You can do any nuts, just dictates time and power level, but yes, I haven't toasted a nut in the oven in years and years.

 

[Anna N]

Just don't try to get them from raw to roasted in one fell swoop!  Give them a couple of minutes then swish them around.   A couple more minutes etc. until you are happy with them.   Might be sensible and pull them just before you are happy because they will continue to cook.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[Porthos]

Any opinions on whether pine nuts would toast well?

[heidih]

9 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Any opinions on whether pine nuts would toast well?

Porthos - if you click on the Serious Eats link I posted that is the nut Kenji shows

[MelissaH]

I learned about toasting nuts in the microwave from Kerry Beal, as well. I learned that it's easily possible to burn nuts in the microwave all by myself.

[cdh]

Makes sense... nuts are so oily that in a microwave they'd render and fry themselves.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'd been wondering if pecans could be deep fried, and apparently they can.  I'd love to know ideas for time and temperature.

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'd been wondering if pecans could be deep fried, and apparently they can.  I'd love to know ideas for time and temperature.

 

 

Most recipes I've seen suggest a pre-boil of about a minute then 3 mins at 325℉. They can also be air-fried.

Edited November 18, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[heidih]

40 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I was planning to avoid a pre-boil altogether, and 10 minutes seems long.  I have 10 pounds of nuts to play with though.

 

What are you trying to achieve in terms of future use? I toast walnut halves all the time for my dad. Toss with bit olive oil and garlic salt. Two minutes in the wimpy MW, stir, and anothe two. Pecans and walnuts are similar

[JoNorvelleWalker]

22 minutes ago, heidih said:

What are you trying to achieve in terms of future use? I toast walnut halves all the time for my dad. Toss with bit olive oil and garlic salt. Two minutes in the wimpy MW, stir, and anothe two. Pecans and walnuts are similar

 

Primary application is snacking while eGulleting.  At the moment I'm sitting here supping upon a bowl of almonds and my mai tai.

 

In addition, any hints on shelling pecans would be most welcome.  I'd love to achieve a higher percentage of nutmeats out as intact halves.  The pecan variety I have is Elliot.  The shell of Elliot is thick.

 

[AlaMoi]

this does a good job at producing intact halves - I see it's labelled 'vintage' - so not sure if they're still available...

[Katie Meadow]

39 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

this does a good job at producing intact halves - I see it's labelled 'vintage' - so not sure if they're still available...

There are plenty of them on eBay. If you google "pecan and nut cracker"  you will find them; they vary from vintage to new and in between. If you google "nut cracker" you will be down a frightening xmas rabbit hole that goes to the center of the earth. I don't know if this contraption was originally designed for pecans, but that seems to be the operative word. Maybe pecans are particularly difficult to crack. I wouldn't know.

[Smithy]

8 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Maybe pecans are particularly difficult to crack. I wouldn't know.

 

They are. If someone gave me 10 pounds as a gift, I'd gamely slog my way through them but if I'm buying, I'll pay extra to buy them shelled. It's much too fiddly to me to try cracking those hard shells just the right amount, then extract those intricately crennelated meats from their wrappers. Walnuts are easier.

[MaryIsobel]

4 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

They are. If someone gave me 10 pounds as a gift, I'd gamely slog my way through them but if I'm buying, I'll pay extra to buy them shelled. It's much too fiddly to me to try cracking those hard shells just the right amount, then extract those intricately crennelated meats from their wrappers. Walnuts are easier.

I agree about cracking nuts. When I was a child, our neighbour had a huge walnut tree and our family always got a 50, yes, 50 gallon drum of walnuts from them. I have cracked my last nut! I can get a  900 gram bag of pecan halves at Costco for about 16.00 Cdn. They are always fresh when I buy them and I keep them in the freezer. I always toast/roast them before using and I'm always happy with the end result.

[Smithy]

10 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

When I was a child, our neighbour had a huge walnut tree and our family always got a 50, yes, 50 gallon drum of walnuts from them.

 

50 gallon drum!! Oh, mercy. 

 

When I was little, we were always issued hammers and probably some sort of plates or bowls for separating the extracted walnut meats from their shells and partitions. We used hammers to crack the nuts in the cement back stoop. I'm sure my mother chalked up a certain amount of loss to small, eager, but inept hands. Pecans are worse.

 

I agree with the basic idea of toasting them once they're freed, though. We didn't do that when I was growing up, but I think it improves the flavor.

 

I've done both oven and microwave toasting, but haven't settled on a preference.

[Chimayo Joe]

I run into under-roasted cashews from time to time. A few seconds in the microwave fixes them.