Revive stale shelled nuts by placing in a
flat foil pan and putting in a 300 degree F
oven for ten minutes.
Shelling nuts a day before using them will
give air a chance to bring out the oil and moistness,
improving their flavor.
When grinding in a blender or food processor,
add a tablespoon of sugar or flour to each 1/2
cup of nuts to keep them from "clumping" or
forming a paste.
To quickly crack open a large amount of nuts,
put them in a bag and gently hammer until they
are cracked open, then remove nutmeats with
a pick.
To bring out the wonderful nutty flavor,
toast nuts before using in cakes or pies. Spread
the ground or whole nuts in a jellyroll pan.
Toast at 350 degrees F for 10 to 20 minutes,
until lightly browned, stirring occasionally
for even browning.
One method of roasting and salting nuts is
to lightly whip an egg white in a large bowl.
Pour the nuts into it and shake them around.
Scoop them out of the egg white and scatter
on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse or kosher
salt and bake at 300 degrees F until the nuts
are golden brown.
Toast raw nuts by placing them on a cookie
sheet and brushing lightly with a mild cooking
oil. Place in a 350 degree F oven and turn the
nuts from time to time until they are uniformly
golden brown. Sprinkle with salt after toasting
if desired.
Nuts can be chopped in a blender successfully
by adding about a tablespoon of flour to the
nuts before you grind them.
To prevent nuts from sinking to the bottom
of a baked dish, mix them with some of the flour
called for in the recipe before stirring them
into the batter.
Almonds
To blanch almonds, bring to a rolling boil enough
water to cover about a half cup of nuts. Drop
the nuts in the water, remove from heat and
allow the nuts to stay in the hot water for
about a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon
and drain on paper towels. Use a paring knife
to assist the nut out of the skin.
Brazil Nuts
To remove Brazil nuts, bake them at 350 degrees
F for 15 minutes or freeze. Crack and shell.
Coconut
To open a coconut, puncture the eyes with an
ice pick and drain out the coconut water. Place
coconut in a shallow pan and bake at 350 degrees
F for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the shell begins
to crack. Cool it enough to handle, than tap
it smartly with a hammer. The shell will almost
spring apart. Pry out the meat with a knife.
To shred coconut, peel off brown skin with
a swivel-blade peeler or paring knife. Place
pieces of coconut in blender with some of the
coconut water (or the liquid called for in the
recipe). Process until fine; pour out and continue
with the remaining coconut. This short-shredded
coconut is suitable for use in pie fillings,
batters, and fruit desserts.
Hickory Nuts
To remove hickory nuts in one piece from their
shells, hold the nut between the thumb and forefinger
of your left hand, stem end to the right. Place
the narrow side of the nut against a brick,
and sharply tap the nut with a hammer at a point
one-third the length of the nut from the steam
end. With a little practice, you'll soon be
turning out more whole nutmeats and fewer fragments.
Pecans
Pecans will come out of their shells in one
piece if cooked first in boiling water for 15
minutes.
Walnuts
If it's important to get the walnut meat out
whole, soak overnight in salt water before cracking
gently.
