I just made cashew butter!!!

[Carmella]

I've been seeing scrumptious recipes floating around calling for raw cashew butter which, unfortunately, you can't find in my neck of the woods. Soooooo, today I thought I'd take a deep breath and attempt to make my own in my faithful Vitamix.

Now, last time I followed the official Vitamix instructions for making nut butter (as graciously posted by moonstone here), I must say I was a wee bit worried; I used 4 cups almonds with some oil, as recommended, but the sounds coming out of my poor Vitamix were anything but comforting. Afterwards, I thought if I was to try that again, I'd use less almonds/nuts.

Anyways, so today I dumped 2 cups of cashews in the carafe. Flicked the switch on and turned the dial quickly from 1 to 10, until I got a cashew flour. Then I stopped the blender, squirted a little olive oil in there, scraped the flour stuck to the corners with a knife, and whirled the mixture some more. Again, I went from 1 to 10, but then flicked the switch on high, all the while pushing down and moving around with the tamper. After a few seconds, I stopped to inspect the mixture and... it WORKED!!!

I am so stoked!!! Now I'll be able to enjoy cashew butter in no time at all. Hee-hah!

[RawLeah]

See that frightens me.... making cashew butter. Shoot and Vera is still out getting repaired. Oh well.....

I'm glad you are so brave....

[RowanC]

I've made walnut butter in my food processor simply by putting in a couple of cups of walnuts and grinding them...

First they become powder and then if you keep grinding, they release the oil.
Walnuts have a LOT of oil, so you don't have to add any at all.
I suspect the same might be true of cashews... if you just keep grinding?

But sounds yummy!
Congratulations!

[docsharp]

I can't wait to get a vitamix, that will be my next purchase. How does Cashew butter taste?

[Fairygirl]

And the cashews are softer than almonds = no smoking out the vita mix, eh Carmi? LOL
I often notice, just when grinding cashews into flour, that they want to start turning into a paste. I'll have to give it an official try!

[Carmella]

Hi Tanisha,

Hum, let's see... It tastes a little sweet and is super creamy. Yum!

Originally Posted by Fairygirl

And the cashews are softer than almonds = no smoking out the vita mix, eh Carmi? LOL

Exactly!

Originally Posted by Fairygirl

I often notice, just when grinding cashews into flour, that they want to start turning into a paste. I'll have to give it an official try!

Yep. You won't regret it!

[moonstone]

That is awesome about the cashew butter. Was the EVOO too strong? I'll have to try this soon.

As for almond butter in the vita mix, I can and do make it without anything added and it does work. The key is to go from 1 to 10 in like 1 second, then onto high in like 1 second and use the taper to move around (think good arm workout) for like 5 minutes or so.

[Carmella]

Hey moonstone,

I was wondering about that too but no, the olive oil wasn't strong at all.

As for almond butter in the vita mix, I can and do make it without anything added and it does work. The key is to go from 1 to 10 in like 1 second, then onto high in like 1 second and use the taper to move around (think good arm workout) for like 5 minutes or so.

Really, eh?

My vitamix was making strange noises when I tried it and even shut down on me. Now, I don't dare trying it again...