HOWTO spice coating for DIY mixed nuts

November 22, 2020 12:01 PM

Is there an easy and effective way to add a spice coating to my DIY mixed nuts?

I make my own mixed nuts using individual nut types so I have full control of the mix. I'm interested to know if there's an easy way to add a little flavor variety with a spice coating that doesn't need to be run in an oven but also isn't too messy.

Just adding dry spices to a container full of nuts and shaking it up doesn't seem to accomplish much, but I'd also like to avoid oily caked-up spice residue build-up as well. I've seen some methods that require drying the coated nuts out in the oven but I'm not sure I'm that into the idea. Are there any good methods to accomplish what I'm after?

posted by glonous keming to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

My first thought would be to spray/spritz very lightly with oil -- the spray might be fine enough to allow the nuts to hold onto the space but not so thick that it leaves a mess everywhere.
posted by curious nu at 12:26 PM on November 22, 2020

You might be able to mist them with a bit of water instead of oil. At least that's what we used to get toppings on bagels. I'd also probably try putting on a pair of gloves and over-seasoning, then roughhouse the nuts. Squeeze that spice into the nut just a bit. Then shake off excess and see if they stay suitably seasoned.
posted by zengargoyle at 12:55 PM on November 22, 2020

I use this David Lebovitz recipe for spiced nuts pretty often; I sub more nuts for the pretzels and I normally use honey instead of maple syrup. The recipe as written calls for time in the oven; however, the thing that gets the spices to stick to the nuts is the mix of melted butter and honey/syrup, so you might be able to pour a warm mix over untoasted nuts and make it work? But to be honest, the process only takes 10-20 minutes (depending on how much you toast the nuts beforehand) and it's very effective at making the spices stick to the nuts. I don't find it to be oily or clumpy, as I only use 15g of butter for ~300g of nuts.
posted by neushoorn at 12:59 PM on November 22, 2020 [3 favorites]

I know I’ve seen recipes using lightly beaten egg whites (maybe thinned out with water) as the glue — toss the nuts in the egg whites, then in the spices, and then toast to set it. But I don’t have a recipe at hand.
posted by LizardBreath at 3:12 PM on November 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've made these before and they were amazing and my family liked them https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/sugar-and-spice-candied-nuts/
posted by ice-cream forever at 5:29 PM on November 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

best way I've done it, and this does require an oven, is with the beaten egg whites.
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:57 PM on November 22, 2020

If you live in a hot arid climate you maybe can use the sun but otherwise just bite the bullet and use an oven (briefly) to spice your nuts with a nice coating; that's how it's done.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:07 PM on November 22, 2020