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Supposedly you can, but my food processor cannot handle it. It gets too hot and never more than a flour. I think this might be a job for vitamix, but I don't have one so I don't know.
i definitely would NOT soak them. i've done that with almonds and cashews and it turned out really gross. the taste is totally off and kinda smelly. maybe if they are dehydrated after you soak them- i haven't tried that method though.
i do understand that soaking the nuts is better for your digestive system. i'm curious if manufacturers soak their nuts, too?? i usually buy my nut butters but haven't thought of whether the nuts are soaked or not.
i've made nut butter without soaking the nuts but i always have to add oil to it. my food processor isn't strong enough to make the nuts release all their own oils. i prefer sunflower oil, but i'm sure others would work. i tried coconut oil, but it's too dense to make the butter smooth.
I've made it in a processor, without adding oil, but it is hard work on the processor-- I've cracked the spindle on one before. Now, I typically use my coffee grinder, that I use for nuts and seeds and spice grinding. You can add oil, to help brake things down, but I find it too oily tasting. I have found that if you add some cashews, or pine nuts, to whatever nut you are grinding, they will break things down, and taste better than adding extra oil. My coffee grinder does about 1/4 cup almonds, to which I add 2 to 4 cashews, depending on size. Works really well, but you do have to scrape the sides a few times.
As for soaking, I've never tried it, but my Green Life juicer recommends that you soak the nuts first. I've not tried making nutbutter in it. I just imagine it being an oily mess to clean!
You can make nut butters with soaked & dehydrated nuts. To my knowledge, the only commercial company that does this is Sweetwater Market, who makes Better than Roasted nut butters. You can get them from their website (www.sweetwatermarket.net), or from some other raw-friendly stores online. I happen to live close to them, so I can get it from a few local markets, but I don't know if stores across the country carry them.
In any case, making nut butter in a food processor requires lots of patience and a strong motor. Pecans, walnuts, and cashews are relatively easy to make into butter. Other nuts are tougher. You'll probably need to stop the fp to let it cool down during the process. Adding some relatively tasteless oil does help things along.
Thank you for the feedback everyone! I was hoping to give this a go with the almonds, cuz I don't have any major desire for nutmilk, but i love nut butters, and almonds are the cheapest of the nuts (apart from peanuts obviously)...but I only have a cheap $40 FP from walmart, so I dunno if it'll work. I'll have to get a coffee grinder and try.
I have alot of pecans too, so I suppose I could try those, but I have a serious pecan addiction and put them on my salads every day and nibble on them!
I make nut butters very easily in my magic bullet. Sometimes I add the tiniest bit of oil. I don't like olive oil. Use a light tasting oil so as not to add another flavor to your butters.
I wish I could make my own tahini or hemp nut butter, but my food processor doesn't really grind up the small seeds. I have yet to try out the coffee grinder, though. Although it's not as "creamy" as the kind you can buy, the flour you get from grinding up nuts and seeds can easily make a butter. Instead of oil, I like to add a little lemon juice for flavor or some water if I want it neutral. A bit of fresh apple or carrot juice is delicious, and I like to play with adding some fresh ginger juice or agave sometimes. I've done this with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, since I don't really eat nuts that often.
Homemade Nut Butter and Seed Butter. Put nuts or seeds into a high-powered blender or food processor. If your seeds and nuts have been soaked in salt water, then you will not need to add salt to the mixture.
I have used the grinder at the co-op. I suppose that is cheating? It seems like it would need a heavy duty grinder if you don't want to risk ruining equipment.