All About Walnut Oil from La Tourangelle

La Tourangelle is a family-owned company that produces outstanding nut and seed oil, with heritage in the Loire Valley of France, an area known for nut oils. Their toasted sesame, roast walnut, roasted peanut and roasted pistachio oils are all award winners. The company began in 2002 in Woodland, California and their nut oils are all expeller pressed and are GMO free. Their walnut, almond, hazelnut, pecan and pistachio oil are made in house and their almonds and walnuts come from California. 

Earlier this year I got a chance to visit the La Tourangelle mill and also a farm that supplies some of their nuts. Bullseye Farms grows tomatoes, cucumbers, hay, and nuts sustainably on about 16,000 acres. They have 500 acres of walnuts and they use a black walnut root stock which is resistant to diseases. The walnuts are a cross between different varieties and are self pollinators. You might be surprised to learn that ugly nuts make the best oil. It’s the variety of different nuts rather than uniformity that makes the oil taste better. 

The process La Tourangelle uses to make their oil is unique and combines two different styles—refined and unrefined to make an oil that is full-flavored and yet affordable. All their oils are made in small batches and they use only French presses for their limited edition oils. All the nut oils are handcrafted by the master roaster who relies on years of experience to know exactly how to roast the nuts for maximum flavor. The scent in the mill was intoxicating! Luscious and buttery, roasted walnut oil is the essence of walnuts. Walnut oil also has a very short shelf life. Unopened it will last about two years, but once opened it’s best to use it within six months. So don’t hoard it! Use it! If you don’t think you can use a whole tin of it, La Tourangelle now sells it in convenient single-serving pouches. 

Here are some ways to use roasted walnut oil: 

+ Use on top of pancakes or waffles instead of butter

+ Add to pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped toasted walnuts

+ Drizzle over grains such as farro, bulgar or freekeh, top with fresh herbs

+ Combine with toasted walnuts and use on top of brussels sprouts, green beans or asparagus

+ Use in place of olive oil in pesto 

+ Substitute it for butter or vegetable oil in granola recipes

+ Dip bread in it instead of olive oil or butter

+ Use in shortbread recipes 

+ Add a few drops to soup before serving

+ Use in a carrot walnut slaw salad with Dijon mustard

+ Drip on top of vanilla or chocolate ice cream

+ Add to popcorn instead of butter

Disclaimer: My thanks to La Tourangelle for hosting me, I was not compensated monetarily for this post. 

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Posted in: International Recipes