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RAW NUTS 101

If you are into creamy sauces and cheese inspired dishes you will likely find yourself needing Raw Cashews. Raw Cashews are not salted or roasted and have no oil; they are simply Cashews. They surprisingly cost more than more prepared cashews. They are often found in the bulk section of the grocery store or at dedicated bulk or health food stores.

"Raw Cashews are not salted or roasted and have no oil; they are simply Cashews."

 

Cashews

To use them you almost always need to soak them. This can take some practice as I have found different name brands take longer to soften up with soaking. I presume maybe the older they are the longer they take? Just a guess. Regardless you might finding soaking as little as a hour softens some but others need 10-12 hours. Another factor in how soft you will need them to be is the power of your blender. If you have a Vitamix or Blendtec you might not need to soak at all. If you have a simple blender you will want to soak them for at least 6 hours.

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A few tricks for working with Raw Cashews:

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  • When you buy your cashews soak them all at once. Then portion them out in 1/2 cup containers and freeze them. When you need them next you can quickly boil some water and defrost them and they are ready to go.

  • Find a brand that you like and stick with them. You will get used to how long they need to soak to work in your recipes.

  • Short on time but need some super soft cashews? Boil them! Instead of just allowing them to soak. 10 minutes rolling boil usually does the trick. 

  • Don't save soaked Raw Cashews for longer than a day (unless frozen) they start to get slimy and begin to rot if left wet for too long.

  • If you have chlorinated tap water you may consider using purified water instead. Chlorine can affect the flavor.

  • If you are soaking for more than 3 hours place them in a fridge to soak.

  • Keep in mind Raw Cashews are very high fat. 1 oz (1/5 Cup) has 157 calories and 108 of those calories come from fat. If you are someone who has Cardiovascular Disease or Type 2 Diabetes or either is on your radar high fat foods should make up a small portion of your diet. Of course it usually only takes a small amount of Raw Cashews to make a large recipe creamy.

  • Allergic to nuts?  Often you can try sunflower seeds even hemp seeds as an alternative. 

  • Creamy high fat recipes that call for Raw Cashews are great options for young children who thrive on higher fat diets

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Want some inspiration for using Raw Cashews? Make some Veg-cheese for pizza, cashew cream for Tacos or Eggplant Pam. Recipes linked below.

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