Mixed Nuts

Okay, so you open a can of mixed nuts. You know you like some nuts better than others, so you pick them out first. How do you rank the nuts? I like all the nuts, but my order of favorites is:

#1 - Pecans
#2 - Cashews
#3 - Peanuts
#4 - Filberts
#5 - Almonds
#6 - Brazil nuts

Once upon a time it would have been this:
1-pecans
2-brazil nuts
3-cashews

But then I went to Hawaii and discovered macadamia nuts, which are now my #1!

[James Roscoe]

How can you rank the almonds so low Howie? They come in right after the cashews. I agree with the top two picks. I could go either way depending on my mood.

Rat-bastard peanuts last (I like 'em fine, but they're not Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts).

My favorites:

1. Hickory nuts -- tough to find, but boyhood memories.
2. Walnuts
3. Almonds
4. Pine nuts
5. Pistachios
6. Pecans
7. Peanuts -- not a nut but a legume, of course
8. Brazil nuts
9. Macadamias
10. Cashews

If I'm counting peanuts, I should put in soy nuts -- just after pine nuts.

We always have at least five of these nuts on hand, stored in the fridge or in the freezer if Costco has some of the better, more reliable packers on hand.

And, I've tried many other nuts which I would list if I could find reliable sources.

PS: I can't remember the last time I bought a package of mixed nuts -- they always seem over salted and there are almost invariably less of the exceptional nuts in the mix. B.

Rat-bastard peanuts

Mr. Peanut is on his way over to kick your ass. I hope he shell-acks you good.



Brazil nuts #1 here, followed by pecans and cashews -- the rest is bird food.

#1 Brazil nuts
#2 filberts
#3 cashews
All the rest

Hickory nuts

The first thing that came to mind was Johnny Carson doing Ewell Gibbons jokes about wild hickory nuts.

I love hickory nuts, and black walnuts, but they are insanely hard to get out in enough quantities to do anything with

We used to get black walnuts.... my grandfather had a knack for opening them. Since he died I haven't had one.

We used to get black walnuts.... my grandfather had a knack for opening them.

That brings back a lot of fond memories. My grandparents had three black walnut trees on their property. Summer days, a hand-cranked ice cream maker and black walnuts on top of the finished product...

There are three or four folks in the Midwest that will supply hickory nuts, either the thin shell or the shag bark types. I like the shag bark but will settle for the thin shell.

They cost about $22 to $25 shelled per pound, $15 unshelled. If I can get the shag bark, I always buy a pound of the unshelled for old times sake. The easiest way to open them is to put them in a cloth bag and drive the pickup truck over the bag; on the farm I'd use the jeep.

My grandmother had a wonderful black walnut tree that would yield five to ten bushels of nuts a year. The secret to opening them is to use an eight pound mall, short handle, and lay them on an iron anvil. Hit them smartly but not so hard that they are totally crushed. Takes some digging, but they were well worth the work to a farm kid.

The tree got infected and died, and my grandmother got $800 for the lumber. A lot of money to her in 1959, but she mourned that tree until she died six years later.

A great tree.

I went to Hawaii and discovered macadamia nuts, which are now my #1!

The History Channel had a documentary, "Nuts", which had a plethora of facts about nuts -- the one that stuck in mind was that it takes 300 psi to crack a macadamia nut, about eight times the average human grip strength.

Where does anyone go to get nuts that are fresh, top quality ?? Does anyone have a reliable source ?? So often off tastes and frankly rancid nuts spoil the grocery store cans/bags that I hesitate to buy from the grocery store. Longing to make walnut sauce for pasta with really fresh nuts... Any mail order sources that are a sure thing ?
For me: almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts are the faves

#1 - Pecans
#2 - Cashews
#3 - Almonds
#4 - Peanuts
#5 - Filberts
#6 - Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts...filberts? Probably wouldn't eat them. They'd just roll around in the can / jar until Dina threw them away. But macadamias would be # 4 ahead of peanuts if it were an option.

Richard

Agree with JR; Cashews first, Almonds second. Then all the rest with Brazil Nuts last even after Peanuts which we never get with mixed nuts. Wife, on the other hand, ranks Brazil Nuts first. True love in diversity!

Cashews
Almonds
Brazil Nuts
Walnuts
Pecans
Filberts
Peanuts

Stuart, don't worry, you have back-up on the way. That pu$$y-a$$ peanut in a top hat won't stand a chance against me.

rwj

"Where does anyone go to get nuts that are fresh, top quality ?? "

Costco's house brand is excellent, and if the nuts aren't fresh, they will take them back without question.

Chowhound had a thread on good mail order sources: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/384973

Regards, Bob

[Jenise]

Roasted salted peanuts in the shell is one of my favorite nuts in the world, but put peanuts in a Mixed Nut mix and they become oddly unappealing.

My order would go:

pecans
filberts
cashews
brazils
almonds
peanuts

Okay, so you open a can of mixed nuts. You know you like some nuts better than others, so you pick them out first. How do you rank the nuts? I like all the nuts, but my order of favorites is:

#1 - Pecans
#2 - Cashews
#3 - Peanuts
#4 - Filberts
#5 - Almonds
#6 - Brazil nuts

Filberts? So you got me hitting the google page and my suspicion - due to its omission by almost everyone - is right. They are what I would call hazel nuts. Or are they? Interesting facts on the filbert here.

Macadamias are gorgeous, but you'd hardly ever find them in a can of mixed nuts. Too expensive, I guess.

Filberts? So you got me hitting the google page and my suspicion - due to its omission by almost everyone - is right. They are what I would call hazel nuts. Or are they? Interesting facts on the filbert here.

Macadamias are gorgeous, but you'd hardly ever find them in a can of mixed nuts. Too expensive, I guess.

The ingredients on my can of Planters Mixed nuts lists "HAZELNUTS (FILBERTS)" so you hit it right.

Roasted salted peanuts in the shell is one of my favorite nuts in the world, ...

Mine too. I actually buy them more often than canned nuts. I just happened to have most of a large can of mixed nuts left over from NiagaraCOOL.

[James Roscoe]

Roasted salted peanuts in the shell is one of my favorite nuts in the world, ...

Mine too. I actually buy them more often than canned nuts. I just happened to have most of a large can of mixed nuts left over from NiagaraCOOL.

I knew I should have snagged some of those. You will be in mixed nuts for months!

Favorite mixed nut? I'm surprised no one has mentioned Stuart.

[Robin Garr]

Filberts? So you got me hitting the google page and my suspicion - due to its omission by almost everyone - is right. They are what I would call hazel nuts.

I think it's regional even in the U.S., Sue. I'm familiar with the term "filberts" as a synonym, but I call them hazelnuts. Or just to confuse matters a little more, "<I>nocciole</I>."

I've been resisting joining the fun of putting down a list because I really find it difficult to rank things that I like. The correct answer is, "Whichever I had most recently," or maybe, "Whichever I'm in the mood for at the moment."

Much depends on circumstances, too, and as others have said, freshness. And on whether you're going to eat them as munchies or use them in a recipe. F'rinstance, I might not normally rank almonds among my absolute favorites, but once in Portugal when I had access to very fresh almonds not long off the tree and still warm from the roaster? Oh ... my ... lord. I could have eaten a 10-pound bag.

So, okay, cutting to the chase, I like them all, and don't much like having to rank them. But, okay ...

#1 - Pecans
#2 - Hazelnuts
#3 - Almonds
#4 - Brazil nuts
#5 - Peanuts
#6 - Cashews