Cashew butter, a guilty pleasure
Until a few years ago, I avoided using cashew nuts, knowing how problematic their production is from a social and environmental point of view. However, I sometimes ended up satisfying my own and my partner's cravings by buying vegan butter wrapped in plastic (even if it's recycled, it's still plastic). So I decided to experiment with a homemade cashew butter recipe. It took me a few failed attempts to get to this rather satisfying outcome. I'm going to try it with almonds too.
In this recipe, I fermented the yoghurt at home. For this, however, you need a fermentation machine or box, in order to keep the temperature constant at 42 degrees Celsius. If you doubt you will be making homemade yoghurt too often and therefore it is not worth the investment, you can shorten the time and effort invested in this recipe by replacing the vegan yoghurt with store bought versions.
The ingredients below result in about 250 grams of finished product, about the size of a standard pack of butter. I usually double the amount though, as it's easier to measure and the butter can be kept in the freezer until ready to use. (You can automatically multiply the amount within the recipe, using the dedicated plug-in.)
Homemade cashew butter, with cultured yoghurt. It has a sour taste and a creamy texture. It can be spread directly on bread or it can be used in other recipes that require butter.
- 115 grams iaurt fermentat
- 100 grams ulei de cocos (melted and cooled)
- 15 grams ulei de floarea soarelui, de rapiță (or other without a prominent taste)
- 2 + 1/4 teaspoons lecitina de floarea soarelui sau de soia (in powder)
- 10 milliliters suc de morcovi (or 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring)
- 1/4 teaspoons extract de drojdie (or double the amount of yeast flakes)
- 1/8 teaspoons sare
- 1 food processor (or blender)
- 1-2 reusable boxes (silicone moulds or glass jars)
- 1 silicone spatula
- Prepare the yoghurt
If you are using store bought yoghurt, skip this step. If you are doing it yourself, soak the cashews for 8 hours or boil them for 15 minutes, then drain the water. Put them in a blender or food processor with the filtered water and mix for 1.5 minutes at maximum speed. Add the ferment, mix, then transfer the composition to a reusable casserole or jars. Put it in a fermentation box at 42 degrees Celsius, for 10-12 hours.
- Prepare the containers
Prepare the reusable glass or silicone containers in which you will put the butter. You can use one or multiple ones, depending on your consumption needs.
- Combine ingredients
Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend on high speed for one minute.
- Hurry up the process
Transfer the composition to containers and put it in the freezer for half an hour.
- Store adequately
Transfer to the refrigerator the amount that you are going to consume in the next week, keeping the rest in the freezer.