Toasted pine nuts can be a final grace note to well-constructed salads, pastas, and cooked veggies, and I often reach for them at the last minute to add savor and crunch.
Sometimes I stop short, however, realizing that I just don't have time to toast them. Untoasted pine nuts have a raw, mealy taste that I find unpleasant; toasting releases delicious oils and aromas. But toasting tiny pine nuts takes time and supervision. I have often burned a batch while trying to multi-task.
So when I saw pre-toasted pine nuts at Trader Joe's I decided to try them out in a couple dishes. They turned out to be evenly toasted with a golden color and that savory taste. They were not, however, quite as fresh-tasting as the pine nuts I buy in bulk and toast myself - not quite as crunchy, and a little soft in the middle.
For a last minute addition, however, to a salad or a dish of wilted spinach, when you are too hurried to pull out a pan and spend five minutes in careful supervision, they are just great. I do suggest storing them in the fridge to keep them fresh; rancid pine nuts are no good.
• 8 ounce bags available at Trader Joe's for about $3.89, depending on location.
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a tip: you can toast nuts in the toaster oven, if you have one. spread them on the pan in one layer, set heat/color setting to around 250 (varies with different sizes of nuts), press down the lever used for toast, and voila. it took 2-3 tries to get the settings right, but now i can do it without having to supervise, and it's a big help!
We just got a bunch of Trader Joe's stores here and I need to try going to one again. My first venture found me virtually trapped in a store MOBBED with people and checkout lines all the way to the back of the store! Needless to say, I didn't stay. I hope the furor has died down a bit so I can go check out the place in peace. I think I'll go today in fact!
Living in a TJ deprived area, we have to make do until we can get to our nearest TJ's (just 435 miles away). Costco has great prices on excellent quality pine nuts which we roast in out hot air popcorn popper. The popper roasts the nuts quickly and evenly - you just have to shake it while roasting to make sure the pint roast evenly.
"They were not, however, quite as fresh-tasting as the pine nuts I buy in bulk and toast myself"
Yeah - I agree. It's most noticeable when you put them on salads or other uncooked recipes, etc. The freshly-toasted benefits cannot be beat!
But when cooking, I don't notice the difference so much.
Am I insane to have both toasted and raw pine nuts in my pantry??????
correction: i put them in the toaster over at 350!
JenPDX - I suppose I should be asking myself that too!! Ha.
Great tip mfm - I am not possessed of a toaster oven, unfortunately...
TJ's roasted pine nuts must be good -- I tried to buy just that last week and they were out!
Just a note, I can't tell if these are run of the mill pine nuts as is being discussed or pignolas as labeled. There is a pine nut from Colorado, pinyon nuts that taste different, meatier. It's a specific species, and these seem to be it. They're really good though.