Apr 6

Apr 6 Nuts

‘With the compliments of the house.’

A little pot of nuts is placed in front of me, alongside my long cooling and welcome beer. Why do beers always taste better, crisper, more flavoursome in the heat? Especially with nuts?

The practise seems to be back in style to do this again now, after a few years during COVID when offering a little ‘super-spreading delicacy’ was probably not one of the best ideas in the world.

But.why do it? Apart from it being a ‘nice’ thing to do?

There is method it seems, as was explained to me once.

“Salty peanuts make people thirstier and more likely to order a second drink.. Plus they are a cheap snack.”

But is that all there is to it? Apparently not.

Yes, salty snacks make you thirsty. But most people don’t need encouragement to get another round in. And yes, no one is ever going to complain about a complimentary snack. A little bit of something for nothing. For bars they are certainly a cost effective ‘perk’ to offer customers, though have you seen the price of nuts recently??

Ah, but did you know they also slow down the absorption of alcohol? That’s due to the amount of protein and healthy fats they contain.

And what’s more, bitter drinks actually taste better when you eat salt beforehand. The salt tricks the brain into thinking the beer is less bitter. The nutty texture is also a compliment to the smoothness of the drink.

Of course I wasn’t thinking any of this at the time, I was clearing the bowl of every last salty speck.

“Una mas!”