Tuesday's Tip ~ Nuts and Seeds

Anytime you come across nuts or seeds (such as almonds, hazelnuts,  pumpkin  or sesame seeds), regardless if the recipe is for a savory dish or a sweet dessert, I always recommend toasting them. Nuts and seeds contain an exuberant amount of natural oil, which, when heated, will be extracted and produce a golden color and strong aroma.
This task, however, does require caution, as nuts are one of the most commonly burnt items in professional kitchens.
I would not advise adding additional oil or butter to the pan, as the natural oil that is released when heated is all that will be necessary to gently toast the nuts. Below are two methods for toasting:
• Spread the nuts or seeds in a single layer on a sheet tray, and place in a preheated 375ºF oven for 2 to 10 minutes depending on their size.
• Spread the nuts or seeds in a single layer in a sauté pan. Toast on the stove top while constantly stirring or flipping them (if the nuts stay in one place in the pan over direct heat, they will scorch or burn rather than toasting evenly).
 
Never crush or chop the nuts before you toast them. Only do so after they have toasted and cooled. When chopped ahead of time, the inconsistent shapes and sizes will cause them to toast unevenly, and the smaller fragments will burn while the larger ones do not get enough color. This will make your entire mixture taste bitter.
 
You should also never toast two or more different varieties of nuts or seeds in the same pan at the same time. Each is a different size, and will require different cooking times. As such, always toast different nuts and seeds in separate pans.
 
Nuts and seeds are often quite costly, especially in a professional environment. Because of this, I always instruct my cooks to toast them in separate small batches. This way, if you do, in fact, burn them, you will not lose the entire stock, and the monetary damage will not be as severe. 

The cooking time varies depending upon the size and shape of the nuts and seeds, as well as the heat source and temperature. Because  there are several variables, it is difficult to say exactly how long they will take to toast, but what is an absolute surety is they do not take much time, at all. I frequently check them in 2-minute increments
until well-toasted. You will often smell the scent in the air when they are ready. Halfway through the cooking process, I will often rotate the pan to avoid unevenly cooking due to “hot spots” in your oven. I also use a heat-resistant or flat metal spatula to flip the nuts or seeds often to ensure even color. Chef Nicole Roarke