How can I achieve perfect consistency with honey-roasted almonds?

Question

I would like to roast my own almonds (or other nuts) with honey. Ideally, at the end of the roasting, the nuts should be slightly caramelized and have absorbed most of the flavour from the honey; they should also be just a little bit sticky (but not wet).

What combination of factors will successfully produce this end result? Specifically I am hoping to answer the following questions:

• What ratio of honey to nuts is appropriate, such that the nuts will get evenly-coated and have the sticky-dry consistency noted above?

• Is there a relationship between how much honey is used and how early it needs to be applied? In other words, if I apply the honey very early, will I need to use more of it?

• Is it always better to apply as early as possible or is there a point at which I'll get diminishing returns or even negative effects (such as risk of burning)?

• Is it necessary or even beneficial to apply the honey in stages in an attempt to get multiple "coats"?

• What is the ideal roasting time and temperature for almonds specifically? ("Ideal" in this case would mean just long and hot enough to bake all or most of the honey into the nuts while caramelizing but not burning them.)

Answer 1

I find roasting any nut simpler with a bit of glue, some egg white in addition to any flavouring. I use one egg white mixed with a bit of water per 2C of nuts. Toss in the egg white, then in the flavour (salt, sugar, honey, spice, etc.), and bake off at 300-350, depending on the size of nut (lower for larger nuts).