On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:31:36 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote:

:Ed Pawlowski wrote:
: "Dan Musicant" wrote in message
: ...
: I've made nut butters in the kitchen for many years, usually peanut
: butter. It's a money saver and you can see with your own eyes exactly
: what the ingredients are.
:
: I roast the nuts in the oven, although I have made raw cashew butter
: a time or two. My sometime problem is getting a machine that's up to
: the task. I used to work with a Waring blender, and after burning
: out a few motors (they were available for user replacement), I
:
: I've used a Cuisinart food processor with good results. I've not
: made all that much nut butter compared to you, but it has worked and
: may be worth considering. Plenty of people have them so you may
: find a friend that will let you try theirs for a batch to see the
: results.
:
:So, now, how about a recipe please? Is it just ground peanuts or do you add
:something?

Sure. Ingredients:

60 ounces raw peanuts
1 teaspoon salt

Lately, I make enough to fill two 28 oz. jars, so I use around 60 ounces
of raw peanuts. Yesterday I bought almost 20 lb., raw peanuts in bulk at
my local Chinatown for $0.99/lb.

I place 30 oz. of raw peanuts on a large flat aluminum cookie sheet that
I've had for many years, and 30 oz. is as full as it will get with the
nuts as close together as can be without being double stacked. I place
this in a cold gas oven and then set the thermostat to 350. I set my
digital timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off I turn off the oven
but leave the nuts in there for part of the cool-down (this method takes
a little longer, but it saves on gas). After the oven is below 250 it's
OK to remove the sheet. I do this twice to get 60 oz. of roasted peanuts
(a similar if not identical process can be used to roast almonds).

I was filling the blender container with 1/2 the nuts (30 oz.), along
with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Salt to taste, but that's about the
amount that I prefer.

I blend until smooth. I use a pestle from a mortar and pestle (I made
the pestle some years ago from a cylindrical stick, but you could use a
spoon, certainly) to push down the nuts for the first part of the
grinding process, afterward stopping the motor occasionally and mixing
and pushing down unground nuts with a butter knife (ordinary table
knife). After a while the nut butter will actually swirl around in the
container by itself. Remove with plastic spatula to a large mixing bowl
from which I transfer into bottles. I keep one in the refrigerator, the
other unrefrigerated for use.

Dan


Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net