A Pat of Butter

I am dairy intolerant and specifically dairy fats. So using butter is just not a choice. However, I really like bread and butter. Bread and jam is all right but not every bread is suitable for jam. Weird? Yes but it’s true.

So I thought it was time to look at other butters. Years ago a good friend introduced me to the use of peanut butter in salads. Although I liked the taste I didn’t like the feel or the texture in my mouth. I tried cashew butter but the price was so expensive and there were so many additives.

So I deccided to try it myself. Armed with plenty of cashews from the local asian market I put a fistful into the cleaned coffee grinder. It chopped up the nuts finely but after 10 minutes all I had was a fine powder which clogged the machine and a peculiar smell in the kitchen.

After numerous washings and cleanings I eventualy got the coffiee grinder clear of cahew powder but the coffee just never ground as well after and there was always a smell form the motor.

My next attempt was with a hand held blender. Not a good idea as the motor does not like to be in action for 10 minutes at a stretch. Thank goodness for trip switches. So there I was minus a hand blender which is so useful.

I decided it was time to try the food processor which would be a tad more robust. I must admit that it wasn’t too successful. I was getting a paste but it was very grainy and not easy to spread.

So starting again, I ground around 250g in the proccessor. Tipped it out broke it up, then back to the processor. I did this about 10 times, then added about 20ml of sunflower oil. This time while pulsing the mixture became more of a paste or a thick butter.

After making soda bread with nigella seeds I tried my cashew butter. Not bad evennthough I say it myself. Although it still needs refinning. It was still just too thick for easy spreading.

So it will be back to the kitchen for a few more experimentations. But shortly I hope to have homemade edible cashew butter with images of the journey!!!