I like nuts.

[Inner Stickler]

Don't get me wrong. Open a bag of pistachios and I'm in heaven. Cashews are delicious, walnuts amazing. Even plain old peanuts are a treat. By themselves.

But put them in something and it's ruined. Whether it's ice cream, brownies, cookies or bars, putting nuts on it takes two awesome things and makes them one mediocre thing. So cut it out.

[Senegoid]

Would you make an exception to that (even a partial exception) in the case of pecan pie?

[Inner Stickler]

Nope.

[Senegoid]

Nope.

Fine. That leaves all the more for me! I can appreciate that!

[Suburban Plankton]

How do you feel about peanut butter (or any other nut butter, for that matter)?

I'm not talking Skippy of Jif; I mean nuts ground up into a paste with a bit of salt (or not, as your taste buds prefer).

[Inner Stickler]

Like I'd rather just have a handful of nuts.

[Dung Beetle]

Like I'd rather just have a handful of nuts.

This post came to me in the voice of Shaggy. :)

[corkboard]

Now that he mentioned it, I agree completely with the OP.

Plain nuts = goodness.

Nuts incorporated into other foods = badness.

I feel the same way about pickles.

[Anne Neville]

Don't get me wrong. Open a bag of pistachios and I'm in heaven. Cashews are delicious, walnuts amazing. Even plain old peanuts are a treat. By themselves.

But put them in something and it's ruined. Whether it's ice cream, brownies, cookies or bars, putting nuts on it takes two awesome things and makes them one mediocre thing. So cut it out.

You're probably better off for that. As long as the nuts don't have too much salt and you're not eating too much of them, they're good for you. Stuff with nuts in it isn't always as healthy.

How do you feel about nuts in savory dishes? Like a Thai stir-fry or a curry with cashews? Kung Pao chicken? What about walnuts in a salad?

[Hypno-Toad]

I mostly agree with the OP. I make exceptions for things like Pecan Pie or peanuts in Thai food. But for the most part, nuts are best on their own.

[teela brown]

I like nuts, too. I try to eat a low-carb diet, and when that 3 p.m. craving for chips comes on, I instead have a small handful of cashews or hazelnuts. It satisfies the craving for something oily and salty, but it's far healthier than Doritos. As long as one keeps it to a small handful.

But I like nuts in other things, too. Like walnuts in banana bread. Or pecans in chocolate chip cookies. Or pistachios in pistachio gelato. But since I try to avoid these sugary goodies, it's a moot point.

[Ellen Cherry]

You nuts belong in Cafe Society, not MPSIMS.

:D

[Inner Stickler]

How do you feel about nuts in savory dishes? Like a Thai stir-fry or a curry with cashews? Kung Pao chicken? What about walnuts in a salad?In a salad I can eat around the walnuts and still have a tasty salad. Asian food is generally so awesome on its own that even with the addition of nuts, it's still great. (I will be the first to admit, I have an addiction to sweet and sour sauce. You could pour it over an old shoe and I'd think it's delicious.)

[MsWhatsit]

I appreciate a good handful of nuts, too. Some people like to dip their nuts into things. I can't really support that. I like nuts just as they are. And frankly, more than a handful is wasted.

[Ellen Cherry]

I can get you a sack for those if you want, MsWhatsit.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Totally, enormously, emphatically disagree with the OP. Walnuts make brownies. Brownies without walnuts are OK, with are a delight. Walnuts kick chocolate chip cookies up a notch. Candied pecans in a salad? Yumminess! Peanuts or cashews in a stir-fry? Yes! Nuts are great by themselves, I'll give you that, but they're fantastic as ingredients in all kinds of foods.

[Hypno-Toad]

Totally, enormously, emphatically disagree with the OP. Walnuts make brownies. Brownies without walnuts are OK, with are a delight. Walnuts kick chocolate chip cookies up a notch. Candied pecans in a salad? Yumminess! Peanuts or cashews in a stir-fry? Yes! Nuts are great by themselves, I'll give you that, but they're fantastic as ingredients in all kinds of foods.

To me, walnuts in any kind of cooked dish taste like chunks of wood.

[Ellen Cherry]

Nuts on salad. Do it. Do it with the next salad you make. Also put dried cranberries on there and you'll live a long and happy life.

[Spoke]

Obligatory musical link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETFtOirbfCQ&feature=related).

[blondebear]

And, while we're at it, the obligatory clip from Best In Show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGmNqzbsuiY#t=0m17s)

[Dallas Jones]

This company is looking for someone to handle their nuts.

OK, it's a Mad TV skit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isbe3E6ZZy0

[Chefguy]

Last night I made Persian jeweled rice, topped with toasted almonds and pistachios. Pretty dern good. Nuts alone, nuts in other food, nuts to you all.

[cantara]

I have felt this way for years, much to the chagrin of my mother and my wife. I never enjoyed nuts in baking. I could eat nuts plain but they just ruin any cookies, cakes or pies. By the time I was a teenager I discovered that walnuts hurt my tongue. I didn't really think about it but my dentist made an offhand comment "Oh, a geographic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_tongue) tongue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fissured_tongue)."

To this day, I avoid any baking that has nuts. Occassionally I will try something new but invariably decide it is not for me. My wife still derides my preference as she would like to share her favourite desserts.

I eat peanut butter daily, and will have cashews on salads or in Thai food, but that is about it.

[SCSimmons]

Confession: I used to pick the pecans out of buttered pecan ice cream, to eat separately after I finished the ice cream.

I'm not sure if this was really because I liked the nuts better on their own, or if it was just a symptom of OCD.

[Maiira]

I like things with nuts in them, but I feel the same way about dried fruit. I'll happily eat a handful of just about any dried fruit, but for fuck's sake, don't put it IN things. Oatmeal raisin cookies are an abomination.

[Chefguy]

I like things with nuts in them, but I feel the same way about dried fruit. I'll happily eat a handful of just about any dried fruit, but for fuck's sake, don't put it IN things. Oatmeal raisin cookies are an abomination.

See my post above about the rice. The fruit re-hydrates.

[Jamicat]

Hates nuts and raisins in anything...

With the exceptions of Pecan Pie and them Chinese Almond Cookies with a couple almond flakes on it....Oh, and Trail Mix...(Peanut Butter doesn't count)

They are fine for snacking all by themselves. :cool:

[Filbert]

Definitely with the OP on this- except I'm not a massive fan of nuts alone. They're OK by themselves, but they turn everything else into horrid. I will even turn down chocolate, the very stuff of life, if it contains nuts.
I'll relucatantly tolerate savoury foods with nuts in, and eat peanut butter by the spoonful, but that's it.

Raisins I'm fine with...

[drewtwo99]

I agree, and it has always baffled me. Keep nuts out of my sweets, PLEASE. Pecan Pies are ok. Peanut-brittle is fine too. Almond joys are delicious. But those are the exceptions that prove the rule.

I love them on their own, but I don't want them in my ice cream, or candy bars (I'm looking at you Snickers), etc.

[DonLogan]

I think your mouth gets confused when you have nuts and something else in it at the same time.

Mixed nuts could be a problem too. Like if you had a large hard dark nut and a small soft light nut in there at the same time.

It could lead to trouble swallowing, or possibly even choking.