Roasted Nuts to Steer Clear of- Important Science 

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Roasted Nuts to Steer Clear of- Important Science: Thomas DeLauer
LETS GET NUTS!! You see, not all nuts roast the same! In this video, we will break down what happens to different kinds of nuts when they get roasted, and we'll also go over how to roast nuts properly! Let's dive in and I'll see you in the COMMENTS!!
Roasting nuts, rather than eating them raw, is perceived to enhance flavor at the expense of nutrition. While flavor perception is subjective, nutrition content can be more objectively measured. Therefore, if you prefer the taste of roasted nuts over raw nuts, consider the following:
Conditions: Temperature & Time. Both increased roasting temperatures and times can impact nut nutrition. However, temperature seems to be the more important variable. Therefore, it’s always a better decision to roast lower and slower.
As an analogy, imagine you received a beautifully wrapped holiday gift. You would slowly and gently peel off the tape to preserve the pretty paper (nut nutrition) while gaining the same access to the present (flavors) within. The temperature threshold recommendations listed herein are based on a roasting time of less than 20 minutes.
Consideration 1 - Oxidized fatty acids. When fats are heated, they can become damaged or “oxidized.” Because polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are less stable than monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), nuts with relatively more PUFAs will be more vulnerable to oxidation at lower temperatures.
Macadamia nuts contain the least PUFAs (only 2%). They can withstand up to 170°C.
Hazelnuts are a close second, being rich in MUFAs and low in PUFAs similar to macadamia. They can withstand up to 160°C.
Almonds and pistachios have a moderate amount of PUFAs and shouldn’t be roasted above 140°C.
Walnuts are PUFA bombs and are the most fragile. In general, it’s best not to roast walnuts. If you do, do not exceed 130°C. A walnut roasted at 155°C has 30-times the oxidized fat as a macadamia nut roasted at the same temperature.
Consideration 2 - Antioxidant capacity. Heat can damage the natural antioxidants found in nuts, including tocopherols and tocotrienols (vitamin E) and other polyphenols. Since different nuts have different antioxidants differentially distributed in their different proportions of fats and water, it’s impossible to be precise about the maximum roasting temperature of nuts.
However, 140°C appears to be a good general target (an exception can be made for almonds and macadamia; their antioxidant capacity hits a sweet spot at 150°C).
Acrylamide. Acrylamide is a strong carcinogen to humans and can form (by the reaction of asparagine residues and carbonyl groups as part of the Maillard reaction) at temperatures above 120°C. By far, almonds are the most susceptible to forming acrylamide upon roasting. When roasting almonds, it’s very important to keep the temperature below 140°C and to trade in time for degrees, if necessary.
Taste. Although flavor perception is subjective, the paper upon which this guide is based also included a taste test and found that nuts roasted at lower temperatures tended to be score better than nuts roasted at higher temperatures.
Overall Suggestions, By Nut:
Macadamia - 150°C
Hazelnut - 140°C
Almond - 140°C (note acrylamide)
Pistachio - 140°C
Walnut - Don’t roast or less than130°C (A walnut roasted at 155°C has 30-times the oxidized fat as a macadamia nut roasted at the same temperature)
*less than 20 minutes
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
Nicholas Norwitz - Oxford PhD Researcher and Harvard Med Student:
www.dpag.ox.ac...