Almond Butter

[tracyb519]

To make almond butter...do I just put almonds in my juicer and do I add anything else? Also, how long does the almond butter last?

Thank you,
Tracy

[SamuelWilson]

Some juicers can make nut butters and some can't (well, they can but they do not have the same results as others). Please tell us what juicer you have.

Refrigerated, I would say almond butter should last 2 or 3 days. About the same that almond milk would last. Personally, I drink all my almond milk the day I make it. I do not make huge batches because I don't want it to spoil.

I do know that if you add more sea salt to your almond butter it extends shelf life, but it still needs to be refrigerated.

I also want to add that those almond butters you see that are in jars sitting on the shelves at health food stores, those have been blanched. Blanching, if heat is applied long enough, can kill all the enzymes. This explains why that stuff can sit on a shelf outside the refrigerator and not spoil. I can assure you, if you have really raw unblanched almond butter, it will start to taste funny after the 3rd day (give or take).

[Randolyn]

I make my almond butter with my coffee grinder. I just pulverize the almonds and add sesame oil till I get the consistancy I want. I don't add any salt. This workes for me. YUM!

[berrienoire]

hmm.... SO... the almond butters (and cashew, seasme etc) that you find in the refrigerated sections in HFS etc... those don't last long either?? how suckie :( (if that's the same case) I knooow I can't eat a whole jar of the stuff in 2-3 days...

I've made nut butters similar to whipped cream recipes but haven't had em around too long cause my small batches get eaten up so fast. I'd like to try the ones I've seen in the refrigerated sections, but I don't believe the jar size would be eaten up as quickly.

:confused:

[SamuelWilson]

berrienoire, if you did buy those almond butters that are in jars in the the refrigerated sections, you could use a FoodSaver universal lid to vacuum seal the jar. This might extend it for up to a week or so.

I look at it like this, if you make it yourself and it can only last 3 days, then if you buy some that is from a health food store and it last for several weeks, then they have obviously done something to it. This is just my opinion. I just gave up on buying "already" made stuff. I just invest the time to learn how to make things myself and avoid all the guess work. Obviously this doesn't work on everything, sea salt for example. I mean you can harvest your own sea salt, but I want to keep things with in perspective.

[berrienoire]

Samuel, I can totally understand what you mean...about "perspective". Thanks for the tip too ;)

[tracyb519]

Wow..I didn't realize almond butter at the health food stores were blanched, so then it's really not raw, when it says it is?

Samuel...I have a champion juicer. I really like my juicer but have only used it for juicing greens and carrots...and making ice cream. I have been craving almond butter to put on crackers and everytime I go to the health food store, they are always out of the raw...so, I guess I shouldn't worry about that anymore. I'll just make a little bit at a time.
What measurements do you use to make the almond milk? Thank you for your help!

Randolyn...I never thought about using the coffee grinder for almond butter...it would be alot quicker.

Thanks again,
Tracy

[exurb]

some almond butters are roasted, even more heat than blanching.

The Maranatha "Raw" almond butter is from almonds that have not been roasted or blanched, they were definitely raw and unpasteurized going in, however in the grinding process, the heat likely goes above our critical temperature. Bless that company, they were so honest with me when I called for the info (unlike Samuel's experience with Celtic Salt), they said that the "raw" nut butter was likely not a live food nut butter due to the temperature creeping up as it's ground. They said they try to keep the temperature down by slowing or stopping the machine as it heats up, but it possibly goes above the critical temp in grinding. Something to also keep in mind if you're grinding your own, to watch how hot it gets as it's grinding.

[SamuelWilson]

tracyb519, someone should come along momentarily who has a champion juicer and let you know how making nut butters turned out using their champion.

For almond milk, I use one cup of soaked almonds per 4 cups of water (3 cups if I want it to be creamier). I strain mine through cheese cloth or a paint strainer bag. You don't have to though, but I prefer no silt what so ever.

[tracyb519]

Thank You! :)

[Karen_in_FLA]

Has your nut milk maker come yet?

[SamuelWilson]

Karen_in_FLA, no ma'am, I have not received it yet. I ordered mine from overseas.

I did get my Vita-Mix Super 5000 in all black today. I am experimenting with it now, this will definitely open more doors for me as far as capabilities.

[Rawkinlocs]

tracyb519,

I've made almond butter in the Champion (with blank plate) twice and it came out wonderful in texture! It's not the same taste as the store-bought stuff, but it's okay and you'd want to refrigerate it. I don't know how long it would last because mine got used up so fast PLUS, I didn't make a whole jar's worth...maybe a quarter of a jar or so.

I didn't add any oil or anything. But I did get a tip-off to either use unsoaked almonds that you've dehydrated first (like overnight or so I think) OR use soaked and THEN dehydrated almonds. I've not tried making almond butter using the latter suggestion of soaked and then dehydrated almonds, but it should work out well.

Even according to the Champion manual, you shouldn't add too many almonds at once and periodically check the juicer to see if it's getting too hot. If so, turn it off and let it rest a bit and cool off before proceeding.

[ambiguous]

Sorry Samuel, but I don't think most raw nut butters are made from blanched nuts (then they wouldn't have those little specks of skin in them), although I agree that they probably see some 120-degree+ heat in the grinding and/or jarring process.

Rejuvenative foods (www.rejuvenative.com) makes a point of not letting their nut butters get too hot during the grinding process, as does Living Tree Community Foods (www.livingtreecommunity.com). And then there's the "Better than Roasted" nut butters from Sweetwater market (www.sweetwatermarket.com) which is made from soaked and dehydrated nuts.

Anyway, back to the original point of the post . . . I've had some trouble making nut butters in my Solostar juicer; it gets backed up and never comes out buttery. I think the grinding the nuts fine and then adding oil is probably your best bet for homemade nut butter, or you can check out eBay for grinders. Salton used to make home models, and sometimes people auction those off. Plus you can usually find some vintage novelty Mr. Peanut nut butter makers or a new one that looks like an elephant. I can't say anything about the grinding temperature for any of these, though.

[tracyb519]

Thank You! :)

[katie01]

I have a Breville juicer, will it work to make almond butter?

[eachpeachpearplum]

I have a Breville juicer, will it work to make almond butter?


Me too but I dont see how it could! :o :rolleyes:

[Shivananda]

Refrigerated, I would say almond butter should last 2 or 3 days.

I think you're wayyyyyyyyyy too conservative on this. Refrigerated, AND PROPERLY COVERED (meaning with Saran wrap pressed down against the surface to exclude air), I find fresh almond butter is perfectly good for several weeks. And I usually buy mine from a healthy market, rather than make it myself. Unfortunately the price of organic raw almond feedstock is very high right now due to crop failures, so it's running close to $20 per pound. So I just get a small bit at a time, keep it covered, and use it pretty quickly.

[levamssg]

I use my food processor to make almond butter. Add a bit of oil (I use olive) and process until it is creamy. works fine.

I've tried using my green star with the blank plate, but it comes out too grainy in texture. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

[Lady Green Jeans]

Truely raw almonds out of the shell are unfortunately no longer found in CA. They are choosing to treat the almonds with I believe propyline oxide (sp?) which heats the almond past what is considered raw. In-shell nuts are not affected and are raw as may be almonds from other states that aren't treating them as in CA. I've substantially reduced my consumption.

My system for making nut butters (cashew, macadamia or almond):

Put nuts in the food processor and grind until somewhat fine. This eases the first go-through on the next step. Put through my green star with the blank. Run through enough times for a creamy consistency (Usually 4 to 5 times). I gave mac and cashew butter as a Christmas gift and they were wonderfully received.

I did not add any water or oil to my nut butter. Traditionally, I refrigerate my butters unless I know they will be consumed that week.

[swingbolder]

I think you're wayyyyyyyyyy too conservative on this. Refrigerated, AND PROPERLY COVERED (meaning with Saran wrap pressed down against the surface to exclude air), I find fresh almond butter is perfectly good for several weeks.

This has been my experience too. I've made almond butter and kept it in the fridge for up to two weeks, tasted the same to me, not rancid or anything.

[Shivananda]

One caution I would add, to those who are new to all this, is that you do need to check the temperature of the food you are grinding, processing, or running through any kitchen machine frequently until you get used to the amount of heat these devices can generate. In particular food processors have to be watched carefully, because they can heat up dry foods like nuts and seeds pretty quickly when left running continuously. If that's the case, simply break the process down into shorter steps, letting the ingredients cool down in between repititions.