Snack Time {Recipe: Whiskey Honey Toasted Walnuts} (2024)

FAQs

What does toasting do to walnuts? ›

Toasting nuts brings out their earthiness and minimizes any bitterness found in raw nuts. In just a few minutes, nuts will go from pale, somewhat waxy, and mild in flavor and smell, to golden brown, rich-tasting, and with an intensity and delicious aroma that adds a whole new level of flavor to any dish.

As a popular bar snack, nuts are a great nibble to pair with whisky. To balance the flavours found in a strong whisky variety, snack on sweet nuts such as almonds. If you prefer bourbon, opt for heavily roasted and bitter-flavoured nuts like walnuts to munch on.

A: Walnuts don't always come in a perfectly standard size. We found on the California Walnuts website, walnuts.org, that ¼ cup of walnuts is approximately 1 ounce. That amounts to between 12 and 14 halves. If you buy walnut pieces, as we often do, the quarter-cup measure might be the easiest.

Both raw and roasted nuts can be a healthy addition to most diets. Both types are a good source of beneficial nutrients such as Vitamin E, manganese, and omega-3 and 6 fatty acids.

Avoid foods that are strong in garlic or overly spicy as these will kill the flavour of any whisky. Spirits with strong flavours often match well with stronger foods and lighter spirits with foods with a lighter flavour profile, but you want the elements to complement each other rather than being too matchy-matchy.

With such a subtle profile that blends well with the balanced earthy flavor of walnuts, try a vodka based beverage. It's often used with walnuts and peppery spices to mix up a stout nocino liqueur.

Most nuts appear to be generally healthy. But some may have more heart-healthy nutrients than others. For example, walnuts contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and pecans also appear to be quite heart healthy.

A serving of walnuts is roughly 1 ounce, or about ¼ cup. However, some studies suggest eating 1.5 to 2 ounces may be beneficial to reap the health benefits walnuts offer. With this in mind, and considering walnuts are calorically dense, Kalloo recommends aiming for a handful daily to reap their many health benefits.

How many walnuts should I eat? The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends about 5 ounces of nuts, seeds and soy products per week for a 2,000 calorie diet. One serving (1 ounce) contains 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 18 grams of fat, and about 190 calories.

– Raw nuts contain natural enzymes that can aid digestion. “nu*ts such as walnuts and pecans can be enjoyed raw to derive their full nutritional benefits. The heat from roasting can compromise the omega-3 fatty acids in these nuts, which are integral for heart health and brain function,” added Sisodia.

Do walnuts lose nutrients when roasted? ›

Heat used during roasting nuts can slightly reduce their levels of antioxidants and vitamins. Roasting may also damage some of their healthy fats. Further, if stored improperly in heat or exposed to sun for too long, these fats can get rancid which will give the nuts an unpleasant taste and smell.

Walnuts really benefit from toasting—they become buttery, sweet, and lose some bitterness. Here are two ways to toast walnuts. A tender loaf of homemade banana bread is hard to improve upon, but here's one simple idea: Add walnuts.

Toasting or lightly roasting nuts removes all the raw green, slightly astringent flavors that you taste when they are uncooked. This is especially true with walnuts.