toasted almonds

I’ve been enjoying a new snack lately, and it started with almonds clattering on the floor.

My mom accidentally spilled a bunch of almonds that made their escape onto the pale hardwood under our dining table; instead of letting me throw them away, my grandma told me to pick up all the almonds and give them to her so she can toast it on the stovetop (She’s not one to waste food, and heat sanitizes). I didn’t see her make it, but later that day, there they were: sitting in a scalloped-edge, shallow ceramic bowl.

After popping one in my mouth, I can’t quite describe how quickly my opinion went from thinking the almonds were too hard to appreciating the explosion of roasted flavor, because once the almond crumbled onto my tongue, the taste was as warm and red/colorful as a fireplace.

So I tried recreating it thereafter. I tried roasting them the first time, but I did it on a high heat, so I think the almonds became hot and soft and not pleasant. My grandma told me to do it on high heat first and then lowering it for a longer time. I first set it to medium, and once it develops a toasted color, I set it to low and agitated the almonds so they didn’t overdevelop in color and burn. I later discovered that you should wait for the almonds to completely cool so that the moisture that makes the almonds so supple and blegh can evaporate; then, you’ll have crunchy, brittle almonds that are great for snacking.

When I set them on the plate on my family dining table, my sister and I sat opposite each other drinking tea, hers green tea and mine oolong. As we talked, I heard the subtle popping of the almonds as drank. Sometimes I’d lower my ear and hear nothing, but when I lifted my head to continue the conversation, the almonds crackled quietly, as if whispering their pops in secret.

I asked my sister if she could hear the popping too, and in our shared curiosity she lifted the almond and showed me the splits in the little bodies of the browned almonds and said this is probably why they were making the sounds. I think it had to do with how the heat escaping the almonds are causing them to contract, so their toasted bodies are beginning to crack? Even now as I type this on the couch, the almonds forget that I can hear them and revealingly pop once in a while.

Now on rarer occasion I’ll prepare almonds like this, whenever I feel like it, really. I found this post in my drafts today and forgot I had spoken so lovingly of this snack. Maybe I’ll roast some more almonds, soon.