A locally made almond butter worthy of your toast: Solstice Canyon

Jessie Litow and Rachael Sheridan are a thousand pounds of Italian almonds into their brand new business: Solstice Canyon almond butters. Made in Los Angeles with organic, unpasteurized almonds, it’s the stuff of serious toast (and you do take your toast seriously, don’t you?).

It all started with a Vitamix that Litow bought last fall. “For some reason the very first thing I thought about was making almond butter. I made homemade almond butter and it tasted so different from what I’d been buying at the grocery store.” It’s a recipe she has tweaked, but “the overall flavor profile has remained true to the very first run,” made with almonds, Himalayan pink salt, coconut sugar and raw organic coconut oil.

“My friends, everyone who tasted it, would freak out and say, ‘This is the best almond butter I’ve ever tasted, you have to sell this.’” (Litow burned out her Vitamix motor in three months.)

So she teamed with Sheridan, who, like Litow, had worked in the natural foods and restaurant industries, and Solstice Canyon was born.

After trying multiple pieces of equipment (“machines that people told us would have absolutely no problem grinding almonds, looking at us like ‘of course this can grind your almonds,’ and then of course within two minutes of testing the motor would burn out”), they’re using a stone grinding process that keeps the almonds at a temperature much lower than the threshold to be considered raw. “We’re really happy with it,” Litow said. “It keeps vital enzymes intact and provides a really nice texture that we love.”

Litow and Sheridan have developed two flavors in addition to the original almond butter: cardamom clove and Aztec chocolate. “We brainstormed a list of flavors and narrowed it down to an ideal three flavors to start with,” Litow said. “We might add flavors in the future, possibly seasonal or things that work well for holidays.”

The cardamom clove is gently spiced with cardamom and clove, of course, as well as cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger, “with a vanilla undertone.” The Aztec chocolate is more robust but not too spicy, made with organic cayenne, raw cacao powder and cinnamon.

The almonds are sourced from Italy. “It’s the question we get the most,” Sheridan said. “‘Why aren’t we using California almonds?’”

“In the U.S. an unfortunate law in California prohibits almond growers from selling raw organic almonds that are unpasteurized,” Litow said (unless it’s sold directly to consumers such as at farmers markets and farm stands). “Even the organic almonds are typically steam-pasteurized, and while people say the almonds are still technically raw, it basically cooks them.”

So their almonds -- not pasteurized with steam or chemicals -- are shipped from a cooperative in Italy. The almonds are ground in Los Angeles with organic ingredients, then packaged in jars that will be available the first week in November at Broome Street General Store and Jenni Kayne stores in Los Angeles. Gift sets also will be available through Valleybrink Road.

Get your toast ready.