While most recipes call for traditional wheat flour, not everyone can eat gluten. Luckily, there are gluten-free alternatives that you can opt for, such as cashew flour.
If you have never used cashew flour before, you may be curious about what cashew flour is. I did the research, and here is what I found!
What Is Cashew Flour?
Cashew flour is a type of nut flour made from cashews, and cashew flour may be called cashew meal if the ground cashews have a coarser texture. Normally, cashew can be used in most recipes that call for flour, and cashew can be used interchangeably with other kinds of nut flour.
Do you want to find out what cashew flour tastes like, how cashew flour is made, and alternatives you can use instead of cashew flour? Keep reading!
What Is Cashew Flour Made Of?
Cashew flour is made from ground cashews, but cashew flour may also be called cashew meal.
However, cashew meal is generally coarser than cashew flour whereas cashew flour has a finer texture similar to traditional white flour.
What Does Cashew Flour Taste Like?
Normally, cashew flour does not taste significantly distinct since cashew flour is regarded as a neutral-tasting flour.
Therefore, you may not notice cashew flour in your recipe once you cook or bake the recipe, especially if you have other stronger-tasting ingredients like chocolate in your dish.
However, some people have said that cashew flour tastes a bit sweet and creamy especially when you compare cashew flour to the taste of other types of flour.
What Is Cashew Flour Used For?
Typically, you can use cashew flour the same way you would use other types of nut flours, meaning cashew flour is suitable for most recipes.
For instance, you can use cashew flour instead of wheat flour for a cookie recipe, and you may not notice much difference.
Generally, cashew flour is particularly great for recipes that call for softer texture without much rises, such as a cake recipe.
However, cashew flour may not be ideal for all recipes, especially for recipes that would require gluten for structure and texture.
Cashew flour does not contain gluten, meaning cashew flour will not give much rise or structure in certain recipes, such as denser bread recipes.
However, one of the most popular uses for cashew flour is as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour since cashew flour is naturally gluten-free.
How Is Cashew Flour Made?
To make cashew flour, cashews are placed into processing machines to be blended in batches until the cashews resemble flour.
You can make cashew flour at home by using a high-powered blender or food processor to blend cashews, blending the cashews in batches to make sure all the granules are even in size.
However, it is important to not over blend your cashews because over blending cashews will turn the cashews into cashew butter.
Therefore, it would be wise to pulse the cashews to keep an eye on the cashews, stopping once the cashews are a fine powder.
Is Cashew Powder And Cashew Flour The Same?
Cashew powder is the same as cashew flour and the only difference between the two is the names.
Is Cashew Flour The Same As Almond Flour?
Technically, cashew flour is almost the same as almond flour because they are both types of nut flour made from ground nuts, the main difference being what type of nut was ground.
For instance, cashew flour is made from cashews while almond flour is made from almonds, but many people use the two flours interchangeably.
Additionally, cashew flour and almond flour taste nearly identical, but some people state that cashew flour tastes a bit sweeter and creamier while almond flour tastes nuttier.
However, it is worth noting that there is a difference in density since almond flour is denser than cashew flour.
Is Cashew Flour Better Than Almond Flour?
Generally, cashew flour is neither better nor worse than almond flour since both kinds of flour have a very similar taste, texture, and more.
Moreover, most people use cashew flour and almond flour interchangeably, so both flours can work well in many recipes.
However, cashew flour can be better than almond flour if you are specifically allergic to almonds and vice versa.
Does Cashew Flour Have Gluten?
Cashew flour does not have gluten because cashew flour is made from cashews, and cashews do not contain gluten.
However, it would be wise to do some research on the manufacturer beforehand to learn if the manufacturer makes cashew flour in factories that create gluten-containing products, which could contaminate the cashew flour.
Is Cashew Flour Keto-Friendly?
Normally, cashew flour can be keto-friendly because cashew flour contains fewer carbs than traditional wheat flour.
However, people following keto diets should not consume too much cashew flour because excessive cashew flour consumption can make them eat too many carbs.
What Can I Substitute For Cashew Flour?
Generally, the best substitute for cashew flour is almost any other type of nut flour since most nut flours will have the same texture and flavor as cashew flour.
However, many people believe that almond flour is the best alternative to cashew flour and you can use almond flour in an equal ratio to cashew flour.
If you do not mind consuming gluten, you can easily use all-purpose flour instead of cashew flour for most recipes since cashew flour is often used to replace all-purpose flour.
Have a look at our other articles to find out what Caputo flour is, what cream flour is, and what crispy flour is.
Conclusion
Cashew flour is made from ground cashews, and most people use cashew flour as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour.
Generally, cashew flour can be used in most recipes that call for wheat flour and nut flour, particularly if you need flour to provide a soft texture without much rise.
Additionally, cashew flour has a fairly neutral flavor, but some people have noted that cashew flour has notes of creamy and sweet tastes.