If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you might have noticed that I have an enduring fascination with homemade nut and seed butters. I included a handful in my first cookbook. There are nearly half a dozen recipes in the archives of this site (as well as this very worthy chocolate sun butter I wrote for Simple Bites a few years back).
A large part of my nut butter quest has been the search for the best tool for the job. At one time or another, my go-to nut butter machines have been a 40 year old Cuisinart, a Blendtec (best when used with a Twister jar), a Vitamix, and a newer Magimix food processor. I have also spent more than a few minutes lusting after Margo’s commercial peanut butter maker.
However, I think my search for the best nut butter method is over. The piece of gear that has brought my journey to an end? The Omega Nutrition Center Juicer. I tried it for the first time yesterday, and it transformed a pound of roasted peanuts into smooth, spreadable butter in less than two minutes. I was agog at how fast and easy it was.
The folks from Omega sent me this juicer last month, wondering if I might find it useful for prepping fruit for jelly making. However, I was more intrigued by the line in the description that mentioned its ability to make nut butters. Could this be the piece of equipment I’ve been looking for?
Here’s how it works. The Nutrition Center comes with two screens. One is designed for juicing, but the other blocks off the hole where the pulp is ejected, allowing the entirety of the product to go through the machine. As long as you use one of the wider aperture nozzles on the end of the juicer, the auger grinds the nuts and out comes butter!
I added some salt as the nuts went through the machine, so that the finished butter would be uniformly salted. That worked well enough, but going forward, I plan on seasoning the nuts during the roasting step, to ensure that there aren’t any pockets that are spicy or salty.
Now, I’ve only used the Omega for peanut butter, but judging by how beautifully it worked with peanuts, I have a feeling it will do other nut butters really well. I’m looking forward to trying other nut and spice combinations as well!
Do you have a favorite method for making nut butters at home? If you have an juicer, have you ever tried using it to make nut butters?
Disclosure: As stated above, this juicer was sent to me as a review unit. No additional payment was provided for this post and all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
That’s a cool machine. In the past, I have made walnut butter, using a food processor. I pulverized the walnuts and added a little walnut oil or peanut oil, salt, and sweetener to taste. I remember really liking this concoction, which is not one of the more commonly mentioned nut butters. If you like English walnuts, I recommend you try this.
As I make peanut butter regularly for my family this intrigues me. Not sure it would be cost effective, though. Presently I’m using my 20 year-old Cuisinart and it does a reasonable job. My biggest complaint is cleaning it as I don’t have a dishwasher. Getting all the oil out of the nooks and crannies is difficult and yukky. Wonder how easy this would be to clean.
I had some made by a friend using her omega and it is so, so tasty. She served it with chocolate squares for dipping. As someone who perpetually ruins roasted nuts and granola I use Robin Robertson’s technique of slow roasting nuts in a slow cooker, which means no more wasted burnt nuts.
I use the Cuisinart. It’s crazy loud, but gets the job done. My favorite seasoning is honey and chili powder. Little sweet’n’spicy. I’ve also done cinnamon, cumin, and nutmeg (not at the same time). I just have to keep in mind what preserves are in the pantry when I pick a flavor.
I use a “Champion” juicer. They are pricey new but can be found on Craigslist from time to time for under a hundred dollars. I’ve used mine for 15 years now. Truly a kitchen work horse.
I also use the Cuisinart. I tend to keep it plain.
I have the same Omega Juicer but only ever used it for juicing…you’ve given me some inspiration to try this.
looks very delicious! I also love Peanut butter.
Excellent , delicious, easy clean up.
In my experience, this type of machine works well for making peanut butter, but when I tried making almond butter, it never quite got it go creamy. I put it through many times – over 10 times. I checked Youtube and nobody there got it to work in that kind of machine either.
Right at this moment I’m making pecan butter in a food processor and that is working very nicely, but it takes some time. I’m doing it with raw pecans,. My next try will be with toasted pecans. I hear it is much quicker.