You can give the nut to Cinderella or send it to the kitchen. By the way, this is where he belongs. A valuable product with an amazing composition and delicate aroma amazingly sets off the taste of other products. You can use it not only in desserts, but also in snacks, meat dishes, sauces, and what delicious salads with nuts! It is only necessary to choose and prepare the ingredient correctly.
What nuts are used in cooking
In fact, there are much more nuts than we know. But not all types are used for food. Some of them do not have a good taste or do not have a pleasant aroma, therefore they are used only in cosmetology, medicine.
Most popular nuts:
- Walnut. The king among nuts, the most popular and affordable species, has a noble aroma and deep taste.
- Almond. This nut is a stone with a rich composition and elegant taste. Almonds are used in cooking, medicine and cosmetology. It goes well with sweets.
- Hazelnut. He’s a hazelnut. Often sold in shell, has a small size and rounded shape. It is used in desserts, sometimes in main dishes.
- Pistachios. Often they are compared with seeds because of the valves. This nut differs not only in appearance, but also in shade. Pistachio color has not gone out of fashion for several seasons.
- Peanut. This nut grows underground and is cheap. The price of peanuts is much lower than any other species.
- Pine nuts. The smallest nucleoli in size. They are distinguished by a very delicate structure and exquisite taste.
Is there some more nutmeg, but it is more used as a spice. Also on the shelves you can find pecans, brazil nuts, cashews, but in cooking, they are used much less frequently than the above types.
The secrets of using nuts
Nuts contain a lot of fats, they are difficult and long digested by the body, therefore they are rarely used in large quantities. But even a small handful requires attention. Just pouring nuts in a bowl with salad or on a cake does not work.
How to prepare nuts:
- Wash? Naturally! Unshelled nuts bought at the market or in the store must be washed, there is a huge amount of dust and dirt on the kernels. Do not wash only peeled fried and salted nuts, which are an independent snack.
- Dry? Yes! Drying and frying is the easiest way to improve the taste and aroma of a nut. After such preparation, it is revealed. Usually dried in the oven or in a pan. It is important to do this at a low temperature so that the inside of the kernel is also fried.
- Clean? It is desirable. This is not about the shell. The skin is removed from the almond. Usually it is simply poured with hot water for five minutes, then rinsed. Peanuts are fried, then purged. Walnuts are also sometimes peeled.
- Grind? If needed. Nuts can be crushed or whole kernels used. Usually crushed after frying. For grinding, use a knife, grater, blender or just a rolling pin, depending on the required size of the pieces.
Inshell nuts are perfectly stored at room temperature, you just need to pour them into a box or box, you can use a linen bag. Purified kernels are more capricious, they can become damp and rot. For this reason, they are not kept in polyethylene and a tightly closed jar, they must be dried and periodically aired. Roasted nuts should not be stored; it is advisable to consume them within a week.
Resuscitation of nuts
If the nuts are moldy, then nothing can be done with them, feel free to throw it away. Sometimes the kernels inside the shell dry out. In this case, they can be reanimated.
To do this, simply soak in water, sometimes pour with salt. This technique, along with frying, helps get rid of inhibitors.
Inhibitors are found in raw nuts, prevent the germination of kernels, are not harmful to humans, but inhibit digestion. In addition, soaked nuts are better absorbed, give less load on the digestive tract and liver.
Unsweetened dishes with nuts
Nuts can be an independent ingredient, for example, they make popular peanut butter. But more often, nucleoli are added to other products.
Meat and poultry with nuts are friends in the main course.
You can sprinkle kernels on salads and decorate sandwiches. The crushed nuts will add healthy fats to the paste and will perfectly replace the butter. The famous Pesto sauce cannot be prepared without this ingredient.
Common mistakes:
- A large number of spices, spicy herbs. They will simply interrupt the taste and aroma of nuts. Meat and fish dishes are enough to salt, you can add a little pepper.
- High fat content. You can make bacon with nuts or bake a pork knuckle, but there will be overkill with fats. It makes more sense to cook lean meats and fish with nuts or sauces based on them.
- Mixing several types. If the cake can be sprinkled with assorted nuts, then in salads and main dishes it is better to limit yourself to one look.
Important! If the nuts are burnt during frying, then in no case do not add them to the dish. Sauces and meat will have bitterness. You can iterate over or crop black areas.
Nuts in desserts
Walnut cakes and pastries, sweet pastas, ice cream and creams are fabulous desserts that are often prepared at home. But they do not always do it right.
Common mistakes:
- Use of raw nuts. They are tasteless, have no pronounced aroma, so only spoil the dessert. Be sure to dry or fry.
- Premixing. If you add nuts to a cream or other moist mass in advance, they will swell and become like raw beans. Most of the product is preferably used for decoration, and not laid inside.
- Adding to the cream. If you still want to add the nut to the cream, then be sure to fry and grind it, try not to leave large pieces, it is better to decorate the dessert on top with them. Also do not forget to peel, which gives bitterness.
- Cognac will help to emphasize the taste of nuts. Add to the dough or cream.
- No need to fry nuts for doughbut can be slightly dried in the oven.
It is also important not to forget about the quantity. Nuts are very fatty and high-calorie, you need to add them to the cream carefully. Otherwise, we get a very heavy dessert, which neither the stomach nor the figure will rejoice.
