Prepare nuts as described in process No. 1. Sprinkle salt on the kernels when grinding. It is much more preferable to grind the salt in with the nuts than to mix it in the butter.
ALMOND BUTTER
Almond butter is more difficult to make than peanut butter, on account of the difficulty in removing the skins. Dry heat does not loosen the skins as it does the peanut. To blanch almonds, soak them in boiling water from two to five minutes; then the skins become loose and can be pinched off by pressing on the nut with the thumb and finger; the skins will crack and the kernel pop out. Dry them in a slow oven until they become thoroughly dry and crisp, taking care not to burn them. Then grind them through a loosely adjusted mill. Place on tins or on a cloth stretched over the stove until perfectly dry. Then grind then in the nut butter mill tightly adjusted.
This makes excellent butter if the almonds are first-class and sweet.
BRAZIL NUT BUTTER
Remove the brown, woody skins with a sharp knife and put the nuts through the mill. They may have to be broken up before they can be ground. This butter is very good, but somewhat expensive. It is cheaper to buy the nuts already shelled.
PEANUT MEAL
Heat the peanuts sufficiently to remove the skins, but do not brown them. Blanch and look over. Boil or steam them until tender, taking care to have them quite dry when done. Drain off all the water possible and put them through a colander. Put on tins suspended over the stove, or in a slow oven, with the door open, taking care not to brown them. When perfectly dry and hard, grind through the mill loosely adjusted. If it is not fine enough, spread out to dry some more, pass through the mill again more tightly adjusted, but if the mill is too tight, it will grind it into butter. A good plan is to rub it through a flour sieve.