Almonds are considered royal nuts and eating them won’t make you a king but would surely give you lots of proteins. They have a distinct nutty taste and one will always prefer toasted almonds than the raw ones. You get packets of toasted almonds at a very high price in the market but why waste so much money when you can toast them at home and in less than a 15-minute time. You can make some delicious tit bits to munch on with these toasted almonds or slice them and use them over desserts and ice cream to give it a crunchy flavor. Toasting almonds will bring out its delicious nutty flavor even more. Here’s an easy guide to help you complete the task of toasting almonds.
Complexity Level: Basic
Time Required: 15 minutes
Resources Required:
- A packet of almonds with the peels
- A oven or microwave
- A baking sheet and tray
- Some table salt
Instructions:
1. Sort the almonds
When you open a packet of almonds sort them by just having a look at each one. Sometimes, there might be a bad one among the others. You can see a bad one as it would have turned a little black. If you have almonds of various sizes sort them into piles of equal sizes. Equal size almonds will roast equally while when you roast mix sized almonds some might burn and some remain half-toasted.
2. Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees before placing the almonds inside it. Preheating at this temperature is required as this will ensure the almonds are toasted correctly and if the heat is increased they will turn brown and may be even burn. Lower temperatures would not toast them right.
3. The baking sheet
Use a non-greased baking sheet for keeping the almonds. You need to toast them and not fry hence avoid greasing. Toasting without oil will make the nuts a healthy and low fat snack. Oil is not required as when the almonds are heated some of the almond oil will come out. Place this sheet on a baking tray.
4. Place the almonds
Place the almonds individually on the baking sheet. Do not pile the almonds on each other, this will not ensure even toasting. Place them evenly spread out.
5. Place in the oven
Place this tray in the oven and keep there for 10-15 minutes. After every few minutes remove the tray and shake the almonds on the tray so that they get flipped over and evenly roasted on all sides. The almonds should not lie on each other when you shake the tray. They should again be evenly spread out before you place them in the oven again.
6. Remove from oven
Once you see a light brown color to the almonds, remove them from oven and sprinkle some salt on them when they are hot. This gives some extra taste to the almonds. This is optional and you can eat them without salt as well. Do not forget to let them cool down before you pop them in your mouth.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How to toast sliced almonds?
The procedure of toasting is the same as toasting whole almonds but you need to slice the almonds before placing them in the oven.
Quick tips:
- You can also toast almonds in a skillet on a gas burner.
- Toasting almonds in a pan takes less time for roasting.
- Toast almonds in large quantities and store them in the refrigerator for later use. You can save time this way when you need toasted almonds.
- Use them as ice cream or souffle topping for a crunchy experience.
Things to watch out for:
- Watch out for the almonds when they turn slightly brown as then they turn to burn very fast.
- Always refrigerate toasted almonds in an air-tight container or zip pouch.
