Toasting and Grinding Nuts

Lightly toasting nuts at 350°F/175°C for about 7 minutes greatly enhances their flavor. (At 375°F/190°C they will take about 5 minutes.) It is particularly desirable to toast walnuts because the skins are very bitter and toasting loosens most of them. If you toast 7 ounces/200 grams of walnuts, about 0.3 ounce/9 grams of skin will come off when you rub them lightly in paper towels or break up or chop them. Pick out the nut pieces and discard the skin. Toast walnuts and pecans just to the point where their color is a shade darker than the freshly shelled nut. They should not be allowed to brown because they will become bitter.