How to Roast Nuts

Roasting any kind of nut enhances its flavor and gives it a wonderful crunch. It's easy to do. You just need to be careful so you don't over-roast them and turn them bitter. Preheat your oven to 300 170ºF and lay the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. I am using almonds here. Place the nuts in the oven for 10 minutes, shaking the pan periodically. Check the nuts after 10 minutes by cutting one in half to see if the color inside has changed. If you are using smaller nuts, check them before 10 minutes has elapsed to make sure they don't roast too quickly. Taste them to see if you like them. After all, that is most important.

Put the nuts in the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes and check again. You may have to do this a few times until you get the desired color. Once the nuts are roasted enough, remove them from the baking sheet to a cooler surface or they will continue to cook from the residual heat in the baking sheet. Here you can see the roasting progression from a raw almond to a fully roasted one.

Roasted nuts make for a quick and healthy snack, and they give all desserts added flavor.

---

Update: Dawn, over at Rouxbe, prompted me (see comments below) to dig a little further on the benefits/harm of roasting nuts. Here is an excellent resource on the web for the World's Healthiest Foods. It appears that nuts should be slow-roasted at lower temperatures. Roasting nuts quickly at high temperatures (over 170ºF) can cause a breakdown of their healthy fats, but roasting at low temperatures will take substantially longer. Thanks, Dawn for the info! It's true - shortcuts in the kitchen don't always produce better results

Tagged as: [ basics howto tips ]