TIP OF THE DAY: Honey & Nuts Spread & Topping

August 29, 2013 at 8:39 am · Filed under Honey-Sugar-Syrup, Jam-Peanut Butter, Recipes

Homemade honey with nuts. Photo courtesy
AppleTurnover.tv.

Honey Nuts Cheerios, Chex, Shredded Wheat and Special K; honey nut peanut butter and honey-roasted nuts: Honey and nuts are a natural pairing.

If you’ve got nuts and honey, you can take the duo one step further:

Combine them into a delicious bread spread and dessert topping, as people in Greece, Italy and elsewhere in the Mediterranean have been doing for thousands of years.

You can find jars of honey with nuts at stores that specialize in Greek and Italian foods, or in cheese shops. They are lovely gifts and stocking stuffers.

RECIPE: NUTS & HONEY

Ingredients

Any honey*

Any nuts*

Glass jar†

*Quantities depend on how much you are making and the capacity of the jar(s). While the photo above is more than half nuts, think of using 2/3 honey to 1/3 nuts—or even 1/4 nuts, if you want just a little. While whole nuts look prettier, they are not as spreadable. So if your goal is to make a bread spread rather than a dessert topping, consider chopping large nuts.

†If you’re making this for home use, you can recycle an empty jar. If it’s for a gift, look for a prettier jar.

Preparation

1. TOAST nuts in a hot, dry pan, keeping them moving until the aroma wafts up (how to toast nuts). Cool.

2. LAYER the nuts and honey in a clean jar. The nuts may migrate to the top of the jar, but you can easily stir them prior to use.

VARIATIONS

If you like the combination, try different variations: sage honey with walnuts, orange blossom honey with almonds, and so on.