A Foolproof Way to Toast Nuts

Maybe you're less easily distracted than I am, but I often struggle with a seemingly basic kitchen task: toasting nuts. No, it's not hard to do, but I burn them with far more frequency than I'd like to admit. (In my defense, the line between roasty-toasty goodness and burnt is pretty fine; miss it by as little as a minute, and your nuts are, well, toast.) Enter culinary science wizard Harold McGee, who discovered a pretty-brilliant hack: microwave them instead of toasting the nuts in the oven or a skillet. J. Kenji López-Alt takes this brilliance one step further, by tossing the nuts in a bit of oil before heating in the microwave, which helps conduct heat and browning.

Here's how to do it:

This also works well with seeds like pepitas.