Hey y’all.
I just did something kind of cool. I made hazelnut butter!
I’ve always loved peanut butter. I’m talking LOVED. I used to go through three pounds of peanut butter per month.
Then 2019 happened, and I started revamping my diet for my skin, and the peanut butter had to go.
I held on for a really long time. I tried natural peanut butters, organic peanut butters, and just reducing my consumption. To be fair, all that did help some, but eventually I came to the realization that I had to break up with peanut butter.
Nuts are expensive. Period. The cheapest nut butter after peanut butter is almond butter… but I don’t like almonds. I do really like Nutella, though, but it’s not that healthy, plus it’s kinda pricey.
After looking at nuts online, I discovered that unshelled hazelnuts were about half the price as a jar of Nutella. So I thought, I’ll just make my own, healthier, hazelnut butter.
And I did using this recipe I found.
It made some good hazelnut butter, but I won’t be attempting this again. I had to add way more coconut oil to get my blender to blend (similar model to the video), and it took thirty minutes to make the butter, not including the time I spent shelling, roasting, and skinning the nuts.
I tried the roasted nuts beforehand, and they’re good just on their own, so I likely will be roasting hazelnuts in the future.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the whole convenience thing. When you buy items from the store, you’re paying for the convenience of those items. Yes, you can buy shelled, roasted hazelnuts from the store, but the ones I’ve found have all been about $13/lb. Yes, it’s a lot easier than shelling your own nuts, but in-shell hazelnuts are only $4/lb (even without the shell that’s $8/lb or less) If you have a job where you can make more that the difference, then paying for the convenience makes sense. However, if you’re like me and can’t just go to work and make up the difference, then paying in time is the way to go.
Frugal Treehugger 