I'm contemplating making my own almond butter.  I'm wondering for those people who make their own almond butter what do you make it with?.  I'm thinking of trying to make it with my omega juicer, has anyone used an omega juicer to make their almond butter or do you use another appliance?.

Also any tips would be greatly appreciated on how to make it, ie...  Can i use raw almonds, what type of oil do you use with it, etc...

I'm also alittle paranoid about using my juicer to make the almond butter even though it's made to do it.  About a year ago i was grinding coffee beans (i know, i know) with my juicer for the first time and i broke the auger, if you've seen the auger you know this would be hard to do.  After i broke the auger i read in the instruction manual not to grind gourmet flavored beans with it, i guess i was alittle late on that one.  Thankfully, the manufacturer sent me a new auger at no cost, but don't know if they'd do it again?.

I use the Vitamix to make almond butter.  In the manual, it says to add oil to almonds and not to run it longer than a specified time to keep the motor from getting too hot.  It has never been a problem, as the butter was the consistency I wanted prior to getting to the time limit.

The ratio is 1/2 cup oil per 4 cups almonds...

I've always used olive oil, as that is what we have in-house...

yummmm!

some have soaked these first, then air-dried, then light oven toasted before grinding, commenting the extra roast gives the almond butter more flavor.....

to each their own

light years ago, when not BT/GT versed, a BF of mine and me bought a peanut butter maker

I kid you not.....peanuts came in one way and delicious creamy butter came out the other!! no extra oil added.....

surely you could add almonds and do the same....ask around.....

now that I think of it......that BF took off with half of my PB maker machine!!!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! haha

Don't you hate it when you suddenly remember a wrong doing years later Lola when it is way too late to do anything about it??!!

Mickey - here is a post on making nut butters that I found on this site ages ago but unfortunately do not know who wrote it... Apologies for no credit given

"I just made a pint of super-yummy walnut butter that probably cost me 3-5 bucks!   You can use any nuts...

I use a food processor for this and feed some nuts in batches and grind until they stick to the sides of the processor.  You'll know this when the ground nuts don't "cave-in" on the blade any more.  Open, scrape down the sides and then run it again.  Check the consistency now... it should be soft and relatively finely ground, but not "buttery" yet.  

2. Put the ground nuts/seeds into a bowl and do another batch.  Repeat until you have the amount that you find acceptable.

3. Transfer the whole thing to a mixing bowl and whir at top speed with electric mixer (I use a Kitchen Aid mixer Paddle)  I recommend the Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment if you have one, but if you do not I THINK a hand mixer would work, too.  

4.  Blend it top speed until it becomes creamy.  There is technically no reason that you would NEED to add oil to the mixture, as nuts have enough of their own natural oils in them.... they just need to be pulled out (that's why the mixer in the second step is needed).

5.  Mix in any desirables, such as salt, sweeteners, and spices (if wanted).

6.  You've got your very own super cheap specialty nut butter (they make superb gifts as well)"

Quoted from Possum

4.  Blend it top speed until it becomes creamy.  There is technically no reason that you would NEED to add oil to the mixture, as nuts have enough of their own natural oils in them.... they just need to be pulled out (that's why the mixer in the second step is needed).

I'm not sure almonds have enough oil to make a good butter.  I think they can be made into flour because of the oil "shortage."

The Vitamix manual specifically states that almonds and dry roasted peanuts require additional oil.

I've made almond butter using my Kitchen Aid food processor, but as Joe said, almonds need more oil, so I've used walnut oil. But it's a pain, and I can get good quality almond butter freshly ground from the local hfs; I'd rather spend my time doing other things.

Hmm well that original recipe was for walnut oil after all so good point but you shouldn't need much & I have sometimes added water & oil or even butter...

My Omega has no problems at all with almonds.  I'm using almonds that have been soaked overnight, rinsed in a sea salt solution and dehydrated in a warm oven.  I can't advise you on adding oil or not, because what I'm doing is making almond meal (the texture of a moist flour) to top my baked sweet potato and ghee.

I always get some delicious almond butter on the filter cone after the grinding is complete.  It's smooth and plenty oily enough, but I don't know what it would take to make the other 2 or 3 cups oily enough.  I wonder how it would work to put the moist almond meal through the process a second time.  

Here is a link to a recipe I use:
http://www.rawmazing.com/raw-recipe-almond-butter/

I soak them but don't dehydrate them.  Soaking does remove some of the oils, especially from walnuts, so adding a *little* bit back in(I buy mine at MountainRoseHerbs.com) will help.