How do you make Almond Butter?

[amyambro1]

I could not figure it out from alissa's book.

[Damzlfly]

3 c dry almonds
2 TBS coconut oil

put into a food processor and let it go...it will take about 5-10 min depending on your FP and you will have to stop it occasionally to scrape the edges...the heat from the blade helps break it down to its oils.

This will yield about 2 cups.

[queenfluff]

If you have a good blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix, just blend the nuts on high speed for about 1 minute intervals and than stop and scrape the butter towards the blade and repeat - keep doing this until you get nut butter as creamy as you like.

(the Blendtec has a "Grind Grains" setting - I use that first if the I don't soak the nuts which I usually don't and it helps with the blending process)

Add water as necessary to prevent blender burn out. I never have to add any oil. I add salt to mine though

If you have a not so good blender, grind the nuts first in the coffee grinder and than do your blending.

[Doe]

Nut butter can be made in most any machine that will grind. This would include coffee/spice grinders, food processors, blenders, and some juicers. The speed and power will only affect the amount of time needed.

The key to making butter from any nut or even seeds is patience. The machine must be turned on, off, scraped down, turned on, off, scraped, again, and again … with much patience. Sometimes the machine will become hot and must be left to cool so as not to either cook the nuts or the motor. A Vitamix does make the process faster. A 20 year old processor will work though. The main thing is if it is a large processor it is better to make a lot of nut butter all at once. A little bit will not grind properly in a large container. A small processor works fine with enough patience and time.

At first the nuts will become crumbles, then powder, then very stiff dough, and suddenly the oil will release and it will become butter. Do not over blend after this happens.

There is no need to add anything other than the nuts. If soaked and un-dehydrated nuts are used or water, juice or any other perishable liquid is added, then the entire batch must be eaten within 2-3 days otherwise it will sour and mold will develop even in the refrigerator. However, if oil, honey, or agave is added it should last fine. Plain nut butter with nothing added will last months.

Hope this helps,
teri

[amyambro1]

Thanks!!:D :D

[Rubyred]

Nut butter can be made in most any machine that will grind. This would include coffee/spice grinders, food processors, blenders, and some juicers. The speed and power will only affect the amount of time needed.

The key to making butter from any nut or even seeds is patience. The machine must be turned on, off, scraped down, turned on, off, scraped, again, and again … with much patience. Sometimes the machine will become hot and must be left to cool so as not to either cook the nuts or the motor. A Vitamix does make the process faster. A 20 year old processor will work though. The main thing is if it is a large processor it is better to make a lot of nut butter all at once. A little bit will not grind properly in a large container. A small processor works fine with enough patience and time.

At first the nuts will become crumbles, then powder, then very stiff dough, and suddenly the oil will release and it will become butter. Do not over blend after this happens.

There is no need to add anything other than the nuts. If soaked and un-dehydrated nuts are used or water, juice or any other perishable liquid is added, then the entire batch must be eaten within 2-3 days otherwise it will sour and mold will develop even in the refrigerator. However, if oil, honey, or agave is added it should last fine. Plain nut butter with nothing added will last months.

Hope this helps,
teri

Do you know if you dehydrate soaked almonds and blend them, if the almond butter will last? Or can I add coconut oil to the soaked almonds and have it last?

I have a Blendtec blender and would like to try making almond butter, because the raw almond butter at my local store is $18.00 a pound!

[Doe]

Rubyred, once nuts are ground smooth the digestive problems of having not soaked them are a mute point. However, if you have some that you have soaked and dehydrated they should last.

Soaking any seed or nut makes them fresh just like fresh produce. Left alone they would grow or rot, blending them in that fresh state is easier and they make a very good pastry dough for apple pie or with the pot pie recipe that was floating around here maybe 6 mo ago.

Adding oil in that state would not help. In fact there is really no need to ever add anything if one uses patience and keeps grinding until the natural oils in the nuts are released.

Yes, it is often much less expensive to make your own. Some that I like are almond, sesame seed (tahini), cashew, and believe it or not pumpkin seed. At the moment raw almonds are so expensive that I leave them alone and get raw cashew pieces. They are softer and blend easier too.

Coconut oil is fine to add if the nuts have never been soaked or have been dehydrated or if the preparer's patience has grown thin. Just seems a waste of coconut oil.

Dry, dry, dry,
teri

[littlemarie]

Do nut butters taste good? I would hate to waste my nuts to find out I hate the recipe.

[Doe]

littlemarie, probably the safest thing to do would be to make a small amount and see if it tastes good to you. I do not like pecans or walnuts made into butter at all. My daughter loves walnut butter. I don't even like walnuts in raw brownies and will use something else instead.

If you have a coffee/spice grinder you could grind as little as 1/4 - 1/2 cup of nuts to see, it would make less butter - air space between the nuts. That is how I made my nut butters for well over a year. If you buy one make sure it is OK for nuts and spices. Some I've seen in the stores lately say on the packaging not to use them that way. Mine was a Braun I think. It finally wore out (it was decades old) and I didn't get a new one.

Generally speaking almond is about as close to peanut butter as I've tried, it is a milder flavor. Cashew is very mild and rich, almost decadent. I don't do well with a whole jar of cashew butter in the house, my spoon can't seem to stay out of the jar.

teri

[littlemarie]

Doe,
Thanks for the advice. I tried this with almond butter and you were right, much like peanut butter, I really enjoyed it.

[spiralgirl]

amyambro1,

I posted this on another thread but have no clue what the thread was called.

Anywho here is my tried and true recipe. I as yet don't have a Vitamix and am using a GE blender. So here is what I do:

Measure 1 cup of almonds, cashews, or whatever nut you want to use. Sometimes I double this to 2 cups if I want more.

Then you put the 1 cup of nuts in the coffee grinder (my blender can't do that fine a grind), a bit at a time until you have them all into a powder from. Then dump that powdered 1 cup of nuts in the food processor and turn it on low speed. While it is running you add 1 TBSP of cold pressed oil at a time (I use extra virgin olive oil cold pressed or sesame depending on what I have on hand). Continue adding 1 TBSP at a time until it gets nice and creamy or to where you like it. For me it was about 3-5 TBSP for 1 cup of nuts.

One word of warning. Don't add salt because I added sea salt two times when I made it and added too much and the batch was too salty. It's no problem though as I use it for tahini in recipes. Anywho if you want a bit of a salty taste just add a pinch and that's it.

Also I'm using a older Braun Multipractic 100 food processor and it turns out great for me. If you like it crunchy you wont need as much oil. If you have a wicked blender then you could just do it with nuts only.

[Rubyred]

Adding oil in that state would not help. In fact there is really no need to ever add anything if one uses patience and keeps grinding until the natural oils in the nuts are released.

Yes, it is often much less expensive to make your own. Some that I like are almond, sesame seed (tahini), cashew, and believe it or not pumpkin seed. At the moment raw almonds are so expensive that I leave them alone and get raw cashew pieces. They are softer and blend easier too.


Dry, dry, dry,
teri

Thank you Terri. Right now the almond butter in my neck of the woods is about $18.00lb. But I can buy almonds (fresh-tasting) at the local farmers market for about $6.00lb. Not organic of course, but worth attempting to make my own butter.

[Nimisha]

Doe,

To be more precise how long will the almond butter stay good if its made from nuts only and no oil? also do i have to refrigerate it or can i keep it in the shelf along with the other nuts and seeds?

[veganman]

Rubyred, once nuts are ground smooth the digestive problems of having not soaked them are a mute point.




Hi Teri -

I have often wondered about this. Aren't the enzyme inhibitors still present?

[Little Mango]

Hi Teri -

I have often wondered about this. Aren't the enzyme inhibitors still present?

*Bump*

I was just wondering that too

[samariah]

yea me too lol

[kristinseto]

Hi Teri -

I have often wondered about this. Aren't the enzyme inhibitors still present?

Does anyone have the answer to this?

[goobygirl]

Don't know about inhibitors, but the butter should last quite a while. I store mine in mason jars in the fridge.

Also, if you are having problems with overheating, freezing the nuts first and cooling the container in the freezer first (and sometimes in between) will help.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

I soak the nuts, dry them, and then make butter. Works for me :)