I’m very tired today, and don’t seem to have any capacity left for writing something thoughtful. So why not give a “hotel-type” rating of 10 types of nuts? Lol. This list is based on the most 10 common edible nuts:
★☆☆☆☆ Pine nuts - nice name, and pretty pretty good in a basil pesto…but I’ve never tasted them raw. Have you?
★★☆☆☆ Macadamia nuts - you’ll always feel royal eating a macadamia nut, but you’ll be thinking, “this is gross.” Under their buttery texture and high-fat Australian build is a bitter flavor that will leave you feeling annoyed.
★★☆☆☆ Brazil nuts - high selenium content. My mom eats two every day, and they taste fine. But the selenium makes it taste like you licked loose change, and you’ll get a weird breath.
★★★☆☆ Hazelnuts - sweet and rich. Unfortunately, it’s almost as if they gave up some of their flavor-potential for sweetness. But years back they signed a GREAT contract with Nutella that upgrades their status considerably! (Nutella might be the best invention in history)
★★★⯪☆ Walnuts - on the threshold of being delicious alone, but not quite there. Excellent balance to dried cranberries in antioxidant blends. But no, Mr. Walnut, you don’t get extra points for being brain-shaped.
★★★★☆ Almonds - salted, roasted, or dusted-with-sugar. Throw any kind of almond in a snack pack, and they’re superb. The only nut that is delicious atop a croissant.
★★★★☆ Pistachios - BEST nut for “the nibble dish” at your grandmother’s house. Unshelled, you can satisfy your anciness. Shelled, you can enjoy a pleasant snack.
★★★★⯪ Cashews - glorious! And oddly gobblable. You’d think the shape makes them worse, but it somehow makes them even better.
★★★★⯪ Pecans - perfect when candied. Sweet when raw. They are the close #2 in legendary legumes.
★★★★★ Peanuts - “The Monarch of Shells”, the peanut can do anything. They are more than magnificent in any shape or form. I have a particular love for peanuts; my grandfather always had an enormous bag in his house, and we’d sit at the kitchen table on Saturday mornings and shell-and-eat peanuts. I have yet to taste a peanut product I don’t like.