In the Kitchen

COOKING TIPS

Whether you’re serving up appetizers or entrées, soups or salads, beverages or desserts, Azar nuts make a healthful, delicious addition to any menu application. Enliven dishes and utilize nuts in new ways with these easy tips from our culinary team:

• Substitute slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, pecan pieces or pine nuts for croutons on salads, to add protein and crunch.
• Sprinkle toasted nuts over salads, vegetables and pasta for extra flavor and crispiness. Toast nuts in the oven for best results, generally 5 to 8 minutes at 350°F, and remove when they turn golden brown. Note that toasting time will vary depending on the type and size of nuts being toasted.
• Add excitement to cereal by mixing in dried cranberries or cherries and a generous amount of chopped toasted nuts just before serving.
• Create healthy, low-fat dishes with big flavor simply by steaming your favorite fresh fish and vegetables, sprinkling them with toasted almonds and serving with lemon or lime wedges.
• Create healthy desserts with nut-based crusts. Pulse one cup of almonds in a blender until ground. Melt ¼ cup butter in a large frying pan, then add almond flour and stir constantly until flour is golden brown. Remove from heat and add ¼ cup no-calorie sweetener and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. The mixture should be moist enough to pat into your cheesecake or pie dish.
• Blanch almonds by dropping them into boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, then rinse under cold water. The brown skins slip off easily with a pinching technique. The almonds can then be roasted or simply dried at room temperature.
• Add visual appeal to any dessert with Azar nuts. Top brownies with walnuts, add pecans to cookies and top ice cream with fruit and slivered almonds. The possibilities are endless!
• Nuts are the perfect addition to freshly baked breads. For extra protein, add chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds or sunflower seeds to quick breads before baking. Chopped nuts can also be kneaded into yeast bread dough. Or, brush the top of the loaf with egg whites and sprinkle on chopped nuts before baking to create a delicious, crunchy topping.

Nut Guidelines: Ounces Per Cut

Care and Storage of Nuts

The shelf life of nuts depends on several factors including storage conditions, the package code date and whether or not the package has been opened.

An unopened product (in bag, can or Azar bulk format) can be stored in ambient storage. Extreme heat can cause rancidity once a package has been opened. Bag-in-a-box items should be kept at 40°F to extend the shelf life and prevent infestation. Shelled raw nuts can be frozen if you plan to keep them for longer than one month.

Standard Shelf Life Expectations