Nuts. Talk about an ingredient with a track record: They were an important source of nourishment in prehistoric times, and they still are. Today, consumer interest in nuts has been fueled by marketing campaigns, nutrition research and culinary innovation, placing them in the trend spotlight.
Tree nuts, such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts, and ground nuts, such as peanuts, are versatile, have a value-added, healthy halo, and, most important, they taste good—on their own and in myriad applications. The food mood of the moment is nothing short of schizophrenic, as two seemingly contradictory movements—health consciousness and culinary pleasure— flourish side by side. But product designers have ample opportunity to simultaneously capitalize on both of these driving factors.
Nuts can layer on flavor, because they blend well with other ingredients. Each nut provides its own buttery nuance, yet is subtle enough to lend richness to an entire formulation without overpowering it. Along with that comes the cachet and value of a clean ingredient.
Exterior impressions
Adding nuts to breading and coating systems adds interest and value in the consumer’s mind. Broken, chipped and visually off- or mixed-grade chopped nuts can economically coat or encrust proteins or sweets, applications where they’ll be further processed anyway. Sliced, diced, chopped and slivered almonds and hazelnuts add rustic appeal for encrusting and work best on quicker-cooking items, such as seafood and cheese. For breading, nuts work on their own or mixed with
panko or other breadcrumbs or grains, and with herbs, spices or even cheese. For added health and flavor appeal, consider nut milks as part of the batter formula.
Even the skins of different nuts can come into play. Nut skins create a rich, hearty presence that stands up well with more-flavorful proteins, and this is when the slightly bitter aftertaste from the skins can work to your advantage, as exemplified by the Pecan- Crusted Chicken Salad at T.G.I. Friday’s, Carrollton, TX.
Spread the flavor around
The number of nutty sauces on menus continues to grow. Pestos, in particular, are being updated, including
bagna càuda, from the Piedmont region of Italy, often composed of garlic, anchovies, walnut oil, butter and cream, and
picada, a Spanish sauce typically created with garlic, blanched almonds and hazelnuts, bread, parsley and olive oil.