chopping nuts

[soprofound]

is there a way to get them chopped without using your hands and a knife? i can just see me hold them to chop and getting all cut up. also i saw a recipe calling for cashew "flour", i'm assuming this is just nuts grounded into a power.
how do you do this? can they go in the vitamix to do it?

[rawpriestess]

I chop my nuts in a thing called a chopper, it kind of lookes like a bottomless jar with an upside down cup on top and a push knob on top that you push down with your palm and then it pushes down a bunch of blades to chop what ever is below it.

hard to explain

the second appliance on this link is a picture of one.
http://www.nextag.com/buyer/outpdir.jsp;jsessionid=C6098B84206271976C2AD2AD6FA 8379B?nxtg=34c90a20050f-C7EE8DDAA460F685&search=hand+chopper

or you can dehydrate your nuts after soaking them and then grind the dried nuts into flour with a coffee grinder or a spice grinder, or a bamix bowl, or a Vita Mix.

anyway, that's how I do it.

[soprofound]

I chop my nuts in a thing called a chopper, it kind of lookes like a bottomless jar with an upside down cup on top and a push knob on top that you push down with your palm and then it pushes down a bunch of blades to chop what ever is below it.

hard to explain

the second appliance on this link is a picture of one.
http://www.nextag.com/buyer/outpdir.jsp;jsessionid=C6098B84206271976C2AD2AD6FA 8379B?nxtg=34c90a20050f-C7EE8DDAA460F685&search=hand+chopper

or you can dehydrate your nuts after soaking them and then grind the dried nuts into flour with a coffee grinder or a spice grinder, or a bamix bowl, or a Vita Mix.

anyway, that's how I do it.


oh ok....i have a chopper....sorry to sound like a ditz but what is the purpose of soaking nuts...

[RowanC]

I just put mine in the cuisinart and pulse them... to make flour I just spin it into flour with the S blade. Works fine.

Soaking nuts takes out the bitterness (like in almond skins) and makes them blend much smoother.

[lil fairy z girl]

don't laugh, but i put the nuts in a bag, make sure its sealed and then hit them with something hard eg a rolling pin ; i did not have a chopper or food processor and was too lazy to do it with a knife :)

best wishes
sal

~*~*~*~*

ps this was for walnuts for the date and nut torte :)

[rawpriestess]

Hi, soaking nuts makes them digestable, and also increases the nutrients about 700%, or at least they tell us this.

it removes the enzyme inhibitors in nuts, so that they are edible, I only soak cashews (which aren't even a nut technically) hazelnuts/filberts and almonds, all other nuts I do not soak, or if you do choose to soak them then do it for only about 15 mintues,

that would be
pecans,
pine nuts
walnuts
macademia nuts
etc.

always soak almonds at leat 12 hours before eating, it makes such a major difference, and sunflower seeds too,

all others you can still eat without soaking if you like.