Homemade Raw Almond Butter
Yes, you can make it at home, and it’s pretty easy too! You need only one ingredient -> almonds. Basically all you do it drop the almonds into a food processor and let ‘er rip. Well, there might be one slight thing to take into consideration though, and that’s the amount of time you will need to chop or ‘process’ those almonds. It can take between five to twenty minutes of running time, depending on the strength of your food processor, for that almond butter to become really creamy. Only you can decide if it is worth it the effort.
Why Make It Yourself?
You can always buy a jar of it at the store, so why bother making it at home? Usually the answer is so that you have more control over your food. You can choose raw almonds or ones that have already been roasted. Both kinds will work. You can use half roasted and half raw, or any combination in between, you get the point. You can also add salt or other flavoring at your discretion. Some people add an oil like coconut oil to help the process become more creamy as well.
Plus, of course it’s less expensive to make it yourself at home. It’ll probably cost about half the amount by making almond butter yourself.
Let’s Get Into The ‘Process’
- Put almonds into the food processor equipped with an ‘S’ blade. Don’t overfill, use about 2 (max 3) cups into a standard machine.
- Add salt if desired.
- Turn on machine on low setting for about five to ten minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides periodically.
- Keep whirring that machine until an almond paste starts to form. Have patience!
- Transfer final result into a glass jar and refrigerate.
Almond Butter Recipes
Almond butter can be made from raw or toasted almonds with different types of consistencies. Almond butter making involves basic seven steps.
Raw Almond Butter Recipe #1
Ingredients:
2 cups of almonds soaked in water overnight (You could also use roasted almonds, but soaked are most digestible and the enzymes remain intact)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup (if desired)
Method:
Strain the water from the almonds and place into the food processor. Blend on high for as long as it takes until you start to get a fine almond grit. From time to time, stop the food processor and push the almonds down from the sides of the bowl to make sure all of it gets ground up.
Add the cinnamon, vanilla and maple syrup at any time. Let the food processor run until it reaches the desired consistency you want. If you are using roasted almonds, you may need to add a little sunflower oil (2 tbsp) because it will be drier. Patience is key — it’s not like making a smoothie, your food processor will need to run a little longer than you are used to, but it will be worth it.
Raw Almond Butter Recipe #2
Step 1 Choose good quality almonds
Buy Almonds in shell, or already shelled almond kernels. Good quality kernels are long and sweet. Preferably, the kernels should not be more than one year old.
Step 2 Blanch kernels
This is an optional step. The skin on the kernels hinders in making smooth almond butter. The skin may also add a bitter taste. You can either blanch whole-kernels at home, or buy ‘blanched-whole-kernels’. Do not use pre-sliced blanched almonds, they have reduced flavor and oil, may even be rancid. If you decide to blanch almonds at home, make sure they are bone-dry before proceeding to next step.
Step 3 Roast Almonds
This is an optional step. Raw almonds are preferred by some nutritionist. Roasted almonds add nutty flavor. You can easily roast almonds in an oven. If you roast almonds, let them cool off to barely warm before grinding. You should try to grind the almonds same day that they are roasted
Step 4 Grind Nuts with optional salt
You need a heavy duty food processor to make decent butter. Most of the blenders are inadequate and light food processors will just burn up. You may be operating the food processor continuously at high speed for 10 to 12 minutes.
As you grind nuts, the shearing and chopping process will generate heat and reduce kernels to small particles. Continued processing will result in releasing almond oil.
– To make butter, do not grind cold kernels. Ideally, the kernels should be slightly warm (110º F)
– If you plan to add salt, add salt to kernels as they are being ground for optimum effect
Step 5 External Oil
After the kernels have been processed to clumps, break the clumps with spatula. With continued processing, almond will release oil. For smoother butter, you may add external oil. External oil may be: virgin coconut-oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil, canola oil, or any other plant oil. For optimum results, warm-up the oil in microwave to about 110º F before adding. Continue processing till you have very smooth butter.
Step 6 Sweetener
This is optional step. Sweetener should be added only after the grinding process has already given you the desired consistency. After adding sweetener, continue processing till sweeteners are blended to a desired consistency.
You may add any type of sweeteners: Table-sugar, Brown sugar, Honey, Jaggery.
Step 7 Storing
Almond butter from two cups of almond kernels will fill up one standard 10 oz jar. The Almond butter can be kept at room temperature for about 30 days. For longer time, store it in refrigerator to prevent almond butter to become rancid.
A Few Extra Details
– Raw almonds will take a few minutes longer to get a finished creamy product.
– Warm almonds will turn into butter faster.
– Extra moisture by adding liquid to help make it creamy throughout the process, will reduce the shelf life of the butter.
– Honey, salt, maple syrup, coconut oil, even chocolate chips can be added to enhance the flavor.
– Using rinsed and still wet almonds will not turn out a good result.
Making almond butter in a blender might be a bit tougher. A food processor actually spins more slowly and is more up to the task. Since you have to chop those almonds for 20 minutes or so, using a blender like a vitamix, might actually start to heat up the paste to the point of cooking it. Using a powerful blender will take less time but there is some technique to it, as you will need to switch the speed to high-low-high-low back and forth every few seconds to achieve a good result.