Crunchy things are highly prized as snacks. And nuts are our favorite crunchy thing in which to indulge.
Sea Salt Pecan Brittle from Nanna’s Nuts
Goldilocks would have loved this brittle. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just right! This lovely brittle is made by Nanna’s Nuts of Charleston, a family-run business that began in 2014 with the recipe for Nanna’s spiced pecans. Nanna was Louise Parsons and her granddaughter Traci Greer is carrying on her grandmother’s tradition of preparing nut-based treats for family and friends. We think the pecans are roasted before they go in the brittle, we definitely taste the vanilla, and the salt is incorporated in the brittle candy rather than being sprinkled on top, so it’s perfectly infused in every bite. We are finding this mighty addictive! The company makes all kinds of flavored nuts including bourbon and bacon pecans, chocolate sea salt almonds and organic herb cashews. But it’s the sea salt brittle that’s captured our hearts.
$4 per 3-ounce package, $13 per 8-ounce tin. Available online at https://nannasnuts.com/.
Southern Blister Fried Peanuts from Bakers’ Southern Tradition Peanuts
Credit: Jerry Deutsch
Credit: Jerry Deutsch
The Baker family of Roxobel in northeast North Carolina, grows Virginia-type Southern peanuts and then turns them, along with other local peanuts, into delicious Southern treats. Founder Danielle Baker began by frying peanuts for church functions and family gifts. In 2009, she moved from home kitchen to commercial kitchen. We’re glad we purchased a big container (18 ounces!) of her Southern blister fried peanuts because we are enjoying them so much. Lightly salted, perfectly fried, you almost feel virtuous while you nibble on handfuls at a time. They offer these same peanuts seasoned with salt and pepper, with ghost pepper, with Cajun seasoning and in an unsalted version. And they make sweet peanut concoctions as well.
$10.95 per 18-ounce container. Available online at https://www.bakerspeanuts.com/.
Sea Salt Roasted Pecans from Front Porch Pecans
In the 1970s, the Lamar family began farming pecans in Hawkinsville, Georgia, in the wedge of Georgia between I-75 and I-16, just southeast of Perry. They have 2,000 acres of pecan groves and turn their delicious harvest into roasted pecans, available in four flavors: unsalted, sea salt, habanero BBQ and maple. We went for the sea salt variety. Really? Is any nut so versatile? We’ve enjoyed these right out of the pouch, but we have also broken them up as a garnish for salads, used them to top brownies before baking (love the salt of the pecans with the sweet of the chocolate) and chopped them up finely to top a bowl of lemon-sauced pasta. We love living in what we think of as the “pecan state” (move over peanuts) and supporting our local pecan growers.
$6.99 per 4-ounce pouch. Available at Publix and online on Amazon. More information: https://www.frontporchpecans.com/.
RELATED:
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
