Raw or Roasted (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

I tend to buy pistachios and cashews to snack on, but I am always confused as to which is better. I usually get the "Roasted/Unsalted" over the "Raw" (which I assume means they aren't roasted).

Two questions:

1) Can you eat "Raw" nuts right out of the bag or are these meant to be cooked into foods? I always thought that unroasted nuts would cause stomach aches.

2) What is the difference (besides the obvious) between raw and roasted? Is it just taste or does roasting do something (nutrition wise) to the nuts? It would seem that the roasting would dry out the natural oils, but I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

 

[DaveNel]

They can cause problems, Just dont overindulge yourself

 

[MarkHastings]

I just remembered what I was thinking about...Chestnuts. I heard that they can not be eaten raw, so I was wondering if this were true for all nuts?

 

[David Williams]

No. Peanuts, cashews, almonds, Macadamia nuts, filberts, pistachios, pine nuts, etc can all be eaten raw. Roasting just tends to give the nut a better flavor (especially almonds).

 

[Jim_F]

I'm finding recommendations to avoid raw cashew nuts. The shells contain substances similar to the antigens in poison ivy. Maybe roasting assures the breakdown of any toxic residue. I'm guessing. Myself, I'll stick to the roasted ones*.

*edit: especially after reading "severe gastroenteritis and pruritis ani"

 

[Lew Crippen]

Almost all ‘raw’ cashews have been processed. The outer part of the nut (actually a seed) is toxic, similar (as Jim wrote) to poison ivy or oak, and the inside of the shell is also toxic and will contaminate the nut unless opened correctly and carefully. Because of this difficulty, cashews are usually subjected to heat or steam in order to remove the toxins before being de-shelled.

Basically it is hard to buy real ‘raw’ cashews. Almost all raw cashews have been processed—the ones labeled raw have just not been roasted.

Even so, some sensitive people have allergic reactions to cashews (my son is one).

 

[Elinor]

You can compare raw vs roasted with this database:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/srch/search.htm