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Description
Mixed nuts are a snack food consisting of any mixture of mechanically or manually combined nuts. Peanuts (actually a legume), almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, filberts, hazelnuts, and pecans are common constituents of mixed nuts. Mixed nuts may be salted, roasted, cooked, or blanched. In addition to being eaten directly, mixed nuts can be used in cooking, such as for tarts, and toffee .Trail mix consists of nuts mixed with raisins and other dry ingredients. Mixed nuts have also gained in popularity as table snacks. The individual nuts that make up mixed nuts are harvested from all over the world. In the average can of mixed nuts, you might find almonds from Italy, walnuts from China, Brazil nuts from Bolivia, cashews from India, pistachios from Turkey, hazelnuts from Canada-a true international assortment.
Chopped mixed nuts
Wash the mixed nuts and place them on a chopping board. Chop the nuts finely or coarsely with a sharp knife and use as garnishing.
Crushed mixed nuts
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Mixed nuts like almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashewnuts etc. can be crushed partially or finely as desired. It can be done with either using a mortar and pestle or a dry grinder. Take equal quantities of all the nuts as per your choice or requirement, place them in a dry mortal pestle or grinder and crush them as per the requirement. These crushed nuts are a great addition to any sweet or savoury food items, like to garnish sundaes, Indian desserts like kheer, phirnis, barfis etc. These can also be added into variety of chikkis and laddoos, where little crunch is desired. Few savoury namkeens also makes use of crushed mixed nuts.
Roasted and chopped nuts
Roast the nuts on a hot plate and then place them on a chopping board. Chop the nuts finely or coarsely with a sharp knife and use as garnishing
Roasted and powdered mixed nuts
Dry ground the roasted mixed nuts into fine or coarse powder as per recipe. The powdered nuts can be stored in an airtight container and used as desired.
Roasted and sliced mixed nuts
The mixed nuts can be roasted on a hot plate and then sliced into thin and thick slices as per recipe.
Roasted mixed nuts
The mixed nuts can be roasted on a hot plate for 2 minutes on a medium flame. Let it cool down and then they can be stored as it is or further powdered for various recipe.
Sliced mixed nuts
Slice the nuts into thin or thick slices as per the recipe.
How to select
Because they are relatively inexpensive, peanuts are typically a major ingredient in mixed nuts, although they are viewed as less fancy than other nuts; often "deluxe mixed nuts" are advertised as containing no peanuts. Besides peanuts, cashews are usually the next least expensive nut, and in deluxe mixes they tend to be the most common ingredient. Hazelnuts and Brazil nuts are also "relatively cheap", while pecans are the most expensive ingredient. Select the combination of nuts as per your individual preference. The present standard requires that mixed nuts must contain at least four different varieties of tree nuts or peanuts. Check the expiry date before buying.
Culinary uses
· Mixed nuts are mostly enjoyed as snacks with the beverage of your choice
· They are served as accompaniments with cocktails and can even be mixed with salads for better health benefits and added crunchiness.
· Use your favorite seasoning combination, along with butter, to make a spicy mixed nut snack.
How to store
Store mixed nuts in an airtight container and keep it in a cool dry place,.
Health benefits
· Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein.
· They are rich in fibre, phytonutrients and antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium.
· Nuts are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 - the good fats) which have all been shown to lower LDL cholesterol
· Nuts are also quite calorie dense, so should be used only in moderation.
· It is advisable to go for roasted and unsalted nut mix instead of fried and salted ones.