Create your own nut mix: how to combine your stash

• Start with a few varieties: Two types of nuts as a starting point make it easy to identify differences.
• Add fruit mindfully: Dried fruits are a separate component, not a mandatory ingredient.
• Note down quantities: By weighing out individual amounts, you can recreate a successful blend.

Choose a clear nut base

Start by choosing two varieties that you like to eat together, such as almonds and walnuts. Put them in a bowl and see if both are well represented when you take a handful. Add a third variety intentionally instead of adding every open package you have.

The nut kernel mix from Alnatura, for example, shows that a mixture can work without dried fruits: it contains cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds. The exact composition of this product is an example, not a requirement for your own mix. Source: Alnatura, nut kernel mix.

Think about piece size and use together

For a bowl for snacking, you can combine whole kernels with larger fragments. For muesli that you eat with a spoon, the pieces should be smaller. Chop large kernels separately first; this prevents the entire mix from being pulverized just because one type of nut is too large.

If small pieces settle at the bottom, scoop from the bottom of the bowl when portioning. Distribute a freshly prepared mix into several small bowls using a spoon instead of just pouring them out one after another. This helps to distribute different sizes more consciously among the portions.

With or without dried fruit?

Alnatura's student mix (trail mix) includes grapes and sultanas in addition to nuts. Here, nuts and dried fruit together form the mixture. Source: Alnatura, student mix.

For your own combination, you can initially serve dried fruits next to the nut base. This way, you can vary their proportion while eating without having to re-mix the entire storage jar. Cut large fruit pieces to match the rest of the mix. For a mix intended for several people, two separate bowls are also practical if not everyone likes the same combination.

For larger fruit strips, using dried mango shows how to cut the pieces to suit a snack or breakfast. Compare sizes before mixing a large supply together.

Roasted and salted is a category of its own

A roasted, salted nut mix from Rapunzel contains, for example, almonds, peanuts, and cashews, as well as sea salt and oil. The ingredient list shows why the term "nut mix" alone does not explain the seasoning. Source: Rapunzel, roasted and salted nut mix.

Therefore, read the ingredient lists of your individual packs before combining them. Already salted or seasoned kernels will change the entire mixture. Start with the existing seasoning and do not automatically add more salt. Keep an unseasoned base separate if you would like to use it for other dishes as well.

Record your favorite mix

Weigh the individual amounts when putting it together and note down the varieties and their specific type. If you want to change something, change only one component at a time: more of one type of nut, smaller pieces, or dried fruits as a supplement. This way, you can identify what improves the mix for you.

At Feinwälder, you can find ingredients under Nuts & Snacks and Dried Fruits. Keep the original packaging information and refer to it even after transferring to other containers. For the rest of your stock, our guide to storing nuts is available.

Weighing a small mixture in a reproducible way

As an example of your own composition, you can weigh out 50 g of almonds, 50 g of walnuts, and 20 g of finely chopped dried fruit separately. Together, that is 120 g. Mix them, check the piece sizes, and note the variants of your ingredients. If you like the ratio, five times the amount equals 600 g: 250 g almonds, 250 g walnuts, and 100 g fruit. Without fruit, the base remains at 100 g. This example describes a mixing ratio, not a dietary recommendation.