Nut Roaster
Roasted nuts, for example chestnuts, are usually tastier than their raw version. This is because roasting the nuts brings out their flavor and the sweetness. Usually, nuts are roasted commercially as part of food manufacturing process. But commercial roasting has the disadvantage at being done at a high temperature. At those temperatures, roasting can damage or destroy the nutrients and with them the health benefits of nuts. With a nut roaster, you can control the temperature and the extent to which you roast your nuts at home. This allows you to get the full advantage of the health benefits of nuts, as well as get the best taste possible. Here we talk about the different techniques and ways using which you can roast different types of nuts in a nut roaster. Then we discuss the different types of nut roasters you can purchase.
Using a Nut Roaster
Nut roasters come in different designs, but the most common design made for home use is built like a microwave oven. Just like in an oven, they too have different settings which allow you to control the intensity of the roasting, as well as how long you want to roast them. Nut roasters are in a way ovens, but which have been designed specifically for nuts.
You can even roast nuts in your microwave oven – but this entails controlling for temperature and time in a way that is not conducive to the best roasted nuts. You are prone to roast them too much, or roast them too less. On the other hand, if you have practice with using the microwave oven to roast nuts, then it too can turn out to be a good nut roaster. Usually this involves preheating the microwave oven, and then roasting the nuts for a specified time.
One of the best kept secrets of roasting nuts using your kitchen oven is checking the temperature of your oven to verify that the temperature meter of your oven is correct. For this you will need an oven thermometer, which you will use to check the accuracy of the oven gauge. Heat the oven to a pre specified temperature, and then use the oven thermometer to confirm that the specified temperature has been reached. Now whenever you use your oven, adjust the temperature up or down as required. This one factor can mess with the best of roasted techniques. This verification is useful not just to roast nuts, but in all types of cooking where you will use the oven.
Buying Nut Roasters
There are nut roasters available for specialized uses. For example, you can get nut roasters designed for peanuts. You can definitely use such a roaster for other types of nuts, but it is easier to roast peanuts because their temperature and other metrics have been designed keeping peanut roasting in mind.
There are a number of companies which sell nut roasters; you can even order them online. They are shipped using truck shipping, which costs around $50-100 within the lower 48 states.