50Hertz Tingly Foods – Tingly Cashews
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Citrusy, tingly, floral
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Crunchy yet tender
Ingredients: Cashews, Sugar, Corn Oil, Crushed Green Sichuan Pepper, Salt, Yam Powder, Pea Protein Powder, Monosodium Glutamate, Chili Powder
50Hertz Tingly Foods is so named because of a discovery that the numbing tingly sensation that Sichuan peppercorns bring “vibrates” at about 50hz. The company was founded in 2020 by Yao Zhao, originally born in Chongqing in Sichuan province in China but later worked for green energy projects in the USA. After a trip back to China with his mother and discovering a green Sichuan chili oil he brought some back and quickly grew a business selling it and expanding to more authentic Sichuan products. These Tingly Cashews are a new one I have not seen from them before so something I had to try.
As I’d noted in my review of their Tingly Peanuts Sichuan peppercorns come in two varieties – red and green. Red are the most common and have an earthy cedar-like flavor along with some citrus notes. The green variety is much more citrusy along with some floral notes and can cause an even greater numbing sensation. While their peanuts use the red and green these cashews rely on just the green so you can get the full effect of green Sichuan peppercorn flavor. 50Hertz sources their peppercorns directly from trusted farmers in Sichuan province and are one of the few companies importing them without heat treating them – a process that can harm the flavor and the numbing effect. In fact most serious Chinese home cooks will only source their Sichuan peppercorns from 50Hertz or The Mala Market, both of which are above and beyond the quality you can get at your local US based Asian grocery store. Beyond the peppercorns these cashews have some sugar to add sweetness and act as a glaze to help the peppercorns bind, oil, and yam and pea protein powders. Chinese yam powder is believed to have many health benefits in traditional Chinese medicine and pea protein powder adds some extra protein and helps with texture. These also contain some MSG for added umami and some chili powder for a touch of heat. The cashews are large with the crunchy yet soft texture good cashews have and you can pick up a citrussy aroma from them.
The citrus flavor from the green Sichuan peppercorns is very prominent. I’d describe the flavor as similar to lime with a hint of mint, and in fact with the sugary glaze these almost have a Key Lime Pie vibe but with a savory background tang that’s uniquely Asian. You still get the cashew flavor and between the sugar glaze and the quality of the nuts they have an excellent texture and mouthfeel as well. Compared to the peanuts which also use red Sichuan peppercorns the flavor of the cashews has more treble, they’re brighter overall and lack the woodsy earthy notes of the red peppercorns, but that makes them all the more interesting to taste the flavor of the green ones in isolation. They do have a very nice numbing effect and one of my favorite things to do is to drink water with any Sichuan peppercorn snack as the effects of the peppercorns on the tongue can give the water a savory metallic quality. Despite mentioning chili powder in the ingredients there’s virtually no heat here. That’s to be expected from how far down the list it is, but the tingly sensations and overall flavor more than make up for the lack of heat.
50Hertz Tingly Foods Tingly Cashews get my strong recommendation. They’re a unique and tasty nut snack and one, along with their excellent peanuts, is making me look forward to trying more from the company.
