Nuts, the Latest Food RUINED by the Health Nuts

My husband does them in the microwave - nuts and salt, microwave, shake, repeat a few times, cool ( I'm not sure of his exact formula but he's a bit OCD about it) very good with almonds and pecans - probably others as well.

When did this happen? I thought nuts were the "good" fats. Is it all nuts, certain nuts, roasted nuts, salted nuts?

My stomach has a tendency to get a little wonky and I've found I can keep it in line with a handful of almonds in the morning.

We buy at Costco. About 5 years ago they cut the salt. Now they sell mixed nuts with no salt, dont know if they also have salted ones too but no salt nuts is what my wife bought. I know they have salted and unsalted peanuts in the shell....why anyone would want unsalted in the shell peanuts IDK.

Costco being Costco I am sure that this move has been customer researched, this is what people want. Seems to me that people are still listening way too much the the minders telling us what we " should" do, and that people are looking at food more and more as fuel and less and less as something to be enjoyed.

I dont buy this low salt kick anyways, I look at the science and take away that only a small segment of the population is ill effected by taking in " too much" salt, everyone else has a body that will flush it through with no problem. Not enough salt will kill you, too much might give a few people high blood pressure and if that happens they need to take a pill that costs a few cents once a day.

Pass the salt please! I expect my food to taste good.

does the salt stick? Sounds like a good idea. I have a collection of about 35 different kinds of salt from around the world and some with flavors added, I could have fun with that.

Side Rant: One of my crew brought in some Aunt Annie's soft Pretzels...Almost no salt. Again, what is the point of putting that in your mouth? The whole point is the chew of the pretzel, then getting hit with a salt kick along with the flavor of what ever sauce you are using. Without the salt kick the experience in boring. I guess we are supposed to eat them like we drink tequila, with the salt on the back of our hands.

I've never been a big fan of salt and have often purchased bags of nuts which haven't any added salt. Like the taste of the nuts as they are. To me few things are as scrumptious as Brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, filberts without a trace of added salt. Mind you, eating salted nuts is not something I refuse, just if given a choice I will generally get the saltless and if they need salt, well then there are methods to added it get.

microwave?? that will destroy all the nutritiens!

Last time I checked Costco sold them both ways. I usually prefer "raw" nuts but have accidentally bought the roasted/salted kind before.

I don't avoid salt though. I love salt and I also have a nice selection of finishing salts on hand. Salt makes almost everything taste better.

I love the show "Chopped" and I've noticed that when a contestant leaves off the salt the chef/judges are always very disappointed and will hardly even taste the food.

Only these last few years. Chefs not seasoning their food has become a huge problem, these celeb chefs decided that they could no longer stay silent. The no seasonings chefs say if you complain " I want you to taste the food. In reality they are being lazy. Salt enhances the natural flavor, it does not cover it. You also see these celeb chefs increasingly getting on the contestants for not putting acid in their dishes, another thing that is often required to bring out full flavor.

I have told this story before: I took a cooking class with chef Bruce Naftaly at Le Gourmand, he who is known for his soups and sauces. He made a soup, and at the very end he took a box of kosher salt and started pouring, and pouring. He stopped. He said " I bet you think I am done". Then started pouring again. He then gave a lecture on how salt is a requirement to bring out the flavor. The soup was delish, and did not taste at all over salted. So much for the healthy food nazi's who claim that campbell's uses a lot of salt because they use inferior ingredients.

I just started a few years ago. The first time i really saw an array of salts was at the old Belly Timber in Portland, which you and I have talked about. THen soon after I went to Volterra in Ballard which has as its thing homemade fennel salt on every table and in a lot of the food. I was hooked. Before that I thought salt snobs were all show. Now I take a selection of salts when we go out, since I cant trust the chefs to salt their food, and even now most offer only common salt to fix the food with at the table. Increasingly salt and pepper has been removed from the table, you have to ask for it. I usually dont go back to those places. Sometimes they dont even want to bring any they say something to the effect " the chef believes the food is properly enjoyed without the addition of salt". **** the chef, I am the one paying the freight, give me what I want. Maybe this is a Seattle thing, as I have not seen it in Portland yet. Compared to Portland Seattle is full of stuck up assholes.

Sorry, I forgot that you need to add some water. For about 200g of nuts he puts a tablespoon of water and a teaspoon of salt. He got the recipe from a friend of mine who also adds other spices - chilli etc. I'm sure flavoured salts would be great.

He has them as a snack - often with a glass of whiskey. If he was worried about nutrients he'd add a salad instead of salt.

Boom so did I. I think Hawk is objecting to a lack of salt. Yet I'd suppose it's available either way. At Costco when the unsalted version appears, so far the salted remain

I have never bought salted nuts, if natural ones can be found.

I remember as a kid being so excited at Christmas when the GOOD unsalted nuts in the shell were bought and put in a bowl for everyone to have some. The unsalted nuts were the special occasion ones. They still are for me. Best flavour straight up.

We got the stockings for Christmas. Apple, orange, assorted nuts in the shell, hard candy.

I have to have almons with at least some salt.
Also I cannot stand raw peanuts, as a farmer Ie often tasted soybeans from the pod to judge ripeness. Raw peanuts remind me of unripe soybeans

Absolutely!

Western diet has been manipulated over the years, with manufacturers adding salt to inferior ingredients, purely to enhance flavour.
We've all got used to it and now think that unsalted is bland in most cases, that's all.

Article on nuts.....
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/11/21/handful-nuts-per-day-reduce-risk-cancer-heart-disease_n_4315484.html

Our bodies do need some salt. I always read that in ancient Egypt salt was a medium of exchange. And, since many grew up in a home where there was a saltshaker on the table, many salted their food. We grew to have a taste for salt. In my opinion, food manufacturers then added salt to the food we buy. Today we are told we are eating too much salt, due to all the salt in the food we buy.

I would guess that a later generation will not be conditioned to have such a great taste for salt, since there seems to be a campaign to have people eat much less salt.

In my own opinion, I think it has to do with the diversity in the country now, and the cost of medical care for people with diabetes and high blood pressure. Meaning, there are probably some demographics (read non-European) that have a proclivity towards diabetes and high blood pressure that would be healthier if they had less salt and sugar. That correlates to lower health care costs (under healthcare reform). So, while the English might be able to eat a heaping tablespoon of jam, with no ill effects, many in the U.S. today could go into some form of diabetes health problem.

By the way, the explanation that I read why the non-European demographic has a tendency to get diabetes and high blood pressure supposedly has to do with the lifestyle of constant work in the worlds they evolved in (aka, burning up sugar, and holding in water in hot climates).

So, based on genetics, I do not believe we all have to avoid salt or sugar. I also read that when sugar first came from the New World to England, it was used as a medication. Go figure.

So, no one will get me to deny my evening desire for a red lollipop. My DNA was likely mixed with folks that evolved in very cold climates. I love the cold winter. I love red lollipops (and pretzels).

theres a book "Sugar Salt nd FAt" which goes on a product element investigation and how the marketing of these substances is key to sales.

Salt, is such a complex technology today that the manufcturers have found a way to screw with the natural cubic crystal that salt becomes as it evaporates from brine. Mnufacturers have learned how to create a tetrahedron and a pyramidal crystal that is HOLLOW and when it gets in your mouth it explodes with it flavor. (notreally explodes, it physically breaks into many large pieces of the surface area of the tetrahedron.
They use these kinds of salt in dry snacks like chips and nuts.