anybody willing to share how to make almond butter?

[BDraw]

Thank you!!!

[sweetgoddess]

Hi ! I just made some for the first time and all I did was grind almonds in my food processor, added a drizzle of olive oil and it eventually turned into almond butter.
Now, the olive oil was a mistake, as I could taste it. Someone suggested using coconut oil instead and someone else added nothing.
Be careful with the motor of your food processor!!
Start on low, stop it every 30-40 seconds and let it rest for 10-15 seconds.
Then move to high but still rest it every 45 seconds or so until it isnt working as hard. Keep processing until it is almond butter.

Good luck and dont forget to report your thoughts after!! :)

[BDraw]

quick question -- did you soak the almonds?

[Peter Parker]

quick question -- did you soak the almonds?


buy it from a local health food grocery store :D

[sweetgoddess]

No I didnt soak them because I heard it wouldnt have the right consistency. I am not positive about this though. I was thinking of soaking and then dehydrating, then making it into almond butter.
Maybe someon else has done this?

[truthseeker]

I've made it in my greenstar before. Came out wonderful...the gears on my juicer were a nighmare to clean though.

[Mommax4]

I take unsoaked almonds and grind in the coffee grinder (which is not used to grind coffee) and do it real fine, it becomes very sticky. I then add a touch of cinnamon and then some reverse osmosis water to "combine it" it seems to me to work better than the oil....It is soooo yummy, you could add a touch of honey if you wanted, but the cinnamon brings out a natural sweetness that is wonderful. My hubby who is not raw, loves it!! :)

[sweetgoddess]

Oh, Mommax4, that sounds perfect. Thank you so much, I will try it that way.
:)

[Mommax4]

Hope you like it!! :) I had to make this for hubby's snack last night.

[Doe]

I heard it wouldnt have the right consistency. ... Maybe someon else has done this?Sweet G,

Tried to make some last night from soaked almonds. Ground until it was perfectly smooth. The consistancy reminded me of flour dough. So (after crying, literally) I used it to make a crust for apple pie. Was good.

[tracyinfo]

Big group hug for Doe! XXXXX

I am glad the pie crust was good!


Sweet G,

Tried to make some last night from soaked almonds. Ground until it was perfectly smooth. The consistancy reminded me of flour dough. So (after crying, literally) I used it to make a crust for apple pie. Was good.

[swiddweas]

I soaked the almonds for two days, then sprouted them for one day before pureeing them in my food processor. I was almost in tears as it tasted just like raw white flour. So I thnk if you're wanting to soak them, perhaps drying them afterwards until cruchy would be best. The coffe grinder recipie sounds good, I'm going to try it, thanks.

Swiddweas

[Randolyn]

I tried the coffee grinder method as soon as I read the post. It IS good!! Thanks so much!! I had just run out of almond butter and well here it is $15.00 a jar so this is awesome and inexpensive :)

[organic alaskan]

I have a question...so, is it best to use unsoaked almonds for almond milk too? I haven't tried making it yet, but I really want to.

[swiddweas]

To answer you question, no. I always soak my almonds first, this makes them easier to digest.

[Mommax4]

I had just run out of almond butter and well here it is $15.00 a jar so this is awesome and inexpensive :)

Ohh My, $15 a jar?! I think I'll keep on making it...lol :) Glad you liked it.

[tracyinfo]

organic alaskan, yes, yes, yes. Soak your almonds for almond milk. It releases the enzyme inhibitors.

Blessings.

[organic alaskan]

Thanks for the help...wow, you guys are quick to respond! I think I'll start soaking them right now. :)

Also... while I'm at it I have another concern. I tried to make raw hummus last night by using sprouted (2 days) and then quickly blanched chickpeas ground in my food processor with tahini, olive oil, red peppers and a few spices, with some chopped kalmata olives added. I think I overworked my food processor because it got hot and smelled funny, a little like burnt rubber. My hummus smelled wierd too, but I thought it was just the sprouted bean smell, so I ate some on my salad. After a few disgusting bites I tried to eat the rest of my salad while avoiding the hummus. I felt a little sick to my stomach afterward, and this morning I periodically felt like I cold smell/taste the hummus for a few seconds at a time. I felt better after drinking a bunch of water and eating some fruit, but I'm worried that something went wrong and I put something toxic in my body. Any ideas on what might have happened? :confused:

[tracyinfo]

Two things, you do need to take care of your food processor. Don't overwork the machine. Sometimes, it helps greatly to pulse a couple of times, stir, pulse some more, stir, etc.. until it really get going.

The other thing, is not everyone does well with sprouted beans. I can eat them in small amounts, but they just don't sit well in my stomach. However, of all the beans, the best for you are garbanzos and lentils. Lentils, I can actually eat a few more of than garbanzos.

Blessings.


Thanks for the help...wow, you guys are quick to respond! I think I'll start soaking them right now. :)

Also... while I'm at it I have another concern. I tried to make raw hummus last night by using sprouted (2 days) and then quickly blanched chickpeas ground in my food processor with tahini, olive oil, red peppers and a few spices, with some chopped kalmata olives added. I think I overworked my food processor because it got hot and smelled funny, a little like burnt rubber. My hummus smelled wierd too, but I thought it was just the sprouted bean smell, so I ate some on my salad. After a few disgusting bites I tried to eat the rest of my salad while avoiding the hummus. I felt a little sick to my stomach afterward, and this morning I periodically felt like I cold smell/taste the hummus for a few seconds at a time. I felt better after drinking a bunch of water and eating some fruit, but I'm worried that something went wrong and I put something toxic in my body. Any ideas on what might have happened? :confused:

[Pailani]

I've found that slicing the almonds first helps it be not so not so hard on the food processer motor. My food processer has a round disk that slices that I can put in, and then the S-blade goes in, too. Both blades at the same time. So the almonds get sliced on the way down before they hit the S-blade. It seems to make the job go a little bit faster.

I soaked my almonds once, but it seemed like the almond butter went bad, got moldy pretty quick.

[truthseeker]

Yes! I forgot about that, the coffee grinder does work great! Thanks for the reminder :p

[Choose Life]

Can someone tell me how long almond butter can be stored for after making it. Does it last longer by adding oil?

[Angelic Light]

Grind unsoaked almonds in a coffee grinder until smooth, then add some almond milk that has been made with dates and stir....... yummy.... lovely almond butter...

[Mommax4]

Grind unsoaked almonds in a coffee grinder until smooth, then add some almond milk that has been made with dates and stir....... yummy.... lovely almond butter...


Ohhhh, I didn't think of that, I bet that is awesome! Thanks for the idea. Going to make almond milk in the morning and give this a try.

[swiddweas]

Am I missing something here? When I used the coffee grinder to make the almond butter, the butter tasted kinda like motor oil, perhaps the motor heated up?

[Sharon in Colorado]

I have a feeling that the grinder blades (from a coffee grinder) should be flat for almond butter, and this will ground them up better than a standard food processor S blade. My Magic Bullet has one of these flat blades, perhaps I'll try this.

Pailani, which food processor do you have, that allows you to use a slicing blade and S blade simultaneously?

[sweetgoddess]

Swid, I just make mine in a cheap, 39 dollar black and decker food processor. So you dont have to use a coffee grinder. Just be sure to keep it on low and pulse a bit at a time to keep the motor cool at the beginning.
I have used a cup of almonds and it made about a cup and a bit of almond butter, so I dont know how that happened to you??

[swiddweas]

SweetGoddess, Thank you for your reply. I will buy a Black and Decker if I can find one here. I don't understand why the amount shrunk. Werid, huh?


swid

[Doe]

Swid this worked well for me. Got the idea from Flutterfly's post about grinding flax seed. This can be done with a regular blender. Mine is an old cheap model.

Take a pint size glass jar and put the nuts in it. Unscrew the blender picture from the blade and replace with the small jar. Then it should grind them to a powder fairly fast. Stop and let everything cool down. Take the jar off and add about a quarter cup of coconut oil. Put back on blender and finish blending. Just keep your hand on the side of the jar and don't let it get hot.

I tried this without the oil and after half a dozen or so blending and cooling sessions it was still almond paste. So I asked the woman at Mother Earth in Ocala about it. She grinds fresh peanut and almond butters in the store but they are roasted nuts. She said the heat of the machine is what brings the natural oils out of the nuts. The butter comes out hot. That’s how even the "raw" almond butters sold in jars have been heated.

Also there are home sized electric peanut butter grinders. She has one but got it as a gift years ago and had never seen one for sale in a store. With it she just pours the nuts in the top and the nut butter comes right out the bottom. But again she said it's hot when it comes out.

Teri S.

PS - it always is a good thing to check if there is a second page before answering post at the bottom of the page. Oh well maybe it will help someone.

[sport]

Regarding the checking to see if there is another page I must tell you that it was only this week that I discovered the "read first unread" at the beginning of the tread. This is both saving me time and making sure that I am reading the current message.

[Maverick]

Well I just made my first batch. I ran it through my Green Life juicer, and then put the powered nut material in my food processor, added water (I am out of coconut oil), some sea salt, a little honey, and some Agava Nectar to sweeten it a little.

I basically just kept tasting it, and making adjustments.

[berrienoire]

Wow...you guys sure gave me some neato ideas on adding different ingredients to my nut butters. :) I'll definitely have to try adding some cinnamon next time! Coconut oil sounds pretty yum too. :p

I've been basing mine on Juliano's "Whipped Cream" recipe. It comes out great every time, though I've been switching up a few ingredients. For one example: instead of maple syrup, I like to use raw honey—agave nectar didn't "do it" for me. Sometimes I'll just mix up the nuts with only a bit of water and some honey...whatever I "feel" when I make it. Anyways...

Here is Juliano's recipe just in case someone is wondering.

1 1/2 cup raw walnuts, cashews, or nuts of your choice
filtered water for soaking nuts
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
a few drops of almond extract, optional
*makes about 2 cups*


As for how long my nut butter lasts? I'm not sure cause I usually eat it up within a couple days. :p But I'm guessing it'll probably be fine to keep up to a week or so, depending on how much liquid is in it. I make the nut butter in my large cuisinart food processor—comes out very, very smooth every time. And it's really quick, with not too much mess to clean up afterward. I’ve never experienced my processor getting “hot” or overheated.

I always soak my nuts before I use them for butters or milks. I let them dry out naturally on a towel first or just use them straight after soaking (and rinsing). I suppose I’ll have to try dehydrating the nuts before using them for my butters to experience any difference and see if I like it.

As for grinding things in general? I use a mini-prep cuisinart processor (was my "first processor" for about $30). It can be used to grind coffee beans, so it's perfect for grinding flaxseeds and such. I've had success grinding up seeds/nuts as fine as I want them. My mini-prep only has two speeds: chop and grind, grind going in the opposite direction of chop. You have to hold down the buttons on mine, so it's kinda like having a pulse button. I just let it go till it's done. Haven’t experienced the mini getting “hot” or overheated either. The lil motor never seems to have a problem, and I've had it for at least three years.

I need to make more soon as I am running out. Can't wait to try adding cinnamon!

[kel]

[QUOTE) I tried to make raw hummus last night by using sprouted (2 days) and then quickly blanched chickpeas ground in my food processor with tahini, olive oil, red peppers and a few spices, with some chopped kalmata olives added. [/QUOTE]

I tossed my humous out on the weekend as well. I didn't taste like petrol or anything, just icky :( It is the 3rd time I have made it and the first time I used mixed store bought sprouts and it was good. THe last 2 times it has been :eek:

[truthseeker]

Thanks berrienoire!

My almond butter always comes out to grainy for my liking, even from my green star. And I've been wanting to get a 7 to 10 cup cuisinart food processor. Now It's on my chirstmas list for sure!

[berrienoire]

Thanks berrienoire!

My almond butter always comes out to grainy for my liking, even from my green star. And I've been wanting to get a 7 to 10 cup cuisinart food processor. Now It's on my chirstmas list for sure!

You are welcome! ;) You will love it!

[Vibrancy]

If you'd like to make almond butter without any additional ingredients, then dehydrate unsoaked almonds overnight and then put through the Champion, being careful to not overheat the juicer. It will come out exactly like the almond butter that we buy in jars.

Vibrancy