A source of microelements, vitamins, and unsaturated fats is a walnut. Just two pieces per day replenish the body’s need for Omega-3 acid, which preserves attention and memory, and phytosterols reduce cholesterol and resist cancer. Walnuts are good for everyone except children under 3 years of age.
September-October is the height of the nut season. The markets have a large selection of nuts in and without shells. The fruits are harvested for future use by owners who have their own garden. It doesn't matter how you became the happy owner of the crop. It is more important to understand how to store shelled and shelled walnuts at home. Which method to choose to minimize product losses during winter storage.
Selection of walnuts for storage
Only fruits of the highest and first grades retain their nutritional properties throughout the year. You can choose high-quality walnuts based on the following criteria:
- the shells are thin, tightly adjacent to each other;
- the ribs on the surface are weakly expressed, slightly rough;
- the kernels are freely separated into halves and quarters and do not crumble;
- The nut is heavy and does not ring when shaken;
- subtle specific smell.
The shelled kernels should be strong, light gray to light brown in color. Blackness or wrinkling of the shell means that the product is spoiled or storage conditions have been violated.
Storing walnuts in a jar or box
Remember the characteristics of walnuts, which should be checked when purchasing.
Fine:
- the amniotic rind is absent;
- smooth, symmetrical shape;
- round fruit size from 2.5 cm and above;
- nuts drown in water.
Badly:
- bright yellow color of the shell or kernel;
- the shell is cracked with your fingers;
- the kernel shriveled and shriveled;
- there are signs of pest infestation.
When a nut is less than 2 cm in diameter and irregular in shape, it is a substandard product. If you pull the halves in different directions and a gap appears between them, the harvest was harvested too early or from diseased trees. They will not be stored due to free access of oxygen to the nucleolus.
If the nuts do not smell anything, they are not ripe. If the smell is rancid with a hint of mold, it is rotten or has expired. Green nuts do not have the ability to ripen like kiwi at home and spoil within a week.
Contraindications
Although the nut has a lot of positive qualities, before using it, it is better to know who should not consume this tasty product:
- People who have an intolerance to the components of the kernel.
- For allergy sufferers - due to the fact that the composition contains protein of plant origin, which tends to cause allergies (urticaria, dermatitis) or is not absorbed at all.
- For people with skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis), it is possible to provoke an increase in the disease.
- For intestinal diseases, as well as for improper functioning of the pancreas.
- Not recommended for people with rapid blood clotting.
- Should not be used if you have a stomach ulcer or gastritis.
- Use for pancreatitis is strictly prohibited.
Daily intake should not exceed more than 50-100 grams. for one person. Overeating provokes vascular spasm in the brain, and pain in the front of the head is possible. And in the oral cavity, when overeating, stomatitis and inflammation of the tonsils are possible.
Shelf life
Shelf life depends on treatment before storage, conditions, packaging in which the product is stored. The lifespan of packaged nuts is determined by the manufacturer, but not more than 2 years. And if the product came into the house from the market or was assembled with your own hands, the storage duration is as follows:
- shelf life of walnuts in shell is 2 years;
- peeled kernels – 6 months.
Unpeeled ones last longer, but take up more space. It is much more convenient to keep the walnut kernels peeled. Reducing the temperature to +5° and freezing will help increase the shelf life. These recommendations are also suitable for storing peeled potatoes.
How can you tell if nuts are ripe?
A sign of ripeness of walnuts are cracks in the green pericarp. By this time, the foliage on the tree begins to turn yellow. The fruits ripen unevenly: first, those located on the south side, on the lower branches, crack. Usually the fruits are shaken from the tree and immediately collected. You should not leave fallen nuts on the ground, as moisture and dew will cause them to deteriorate. You should also not pick nuts if the pericarp is still dense. It is better to harvest in several stages. Fruits ripened on the tree are better stored and contain more nutrients.
Do I need to wash walnuts?
In any case, whether the fruits are peeled or not, walnuts must be washed. After all, there is no certainty how they were collected, cleaned and where they were then stored. The shell must be washed to remove traces of pericarp and dirt, which is abundant due to harvesting during the rainy season. If the product is washed at production, it is packaged in packaging indicating that the nuts are washed. But the price is set several times higher.
- Nuts in shell. After washing, unshelled walnuts are dried for 1-2 weeks. They are laid out in one row on a fabric backing and mixed periodically. Drying is more effective outdoors: under a canopy, on a balcony, if weather conditions permit. The fruits are scattered on a net raised above the ground. Drying occurs through continuous air circulation. It is important to protect the batch from birds. Especially crows fly in flocks and steal nuts from their owners.
- Shelled walnuts. The washed kernels are dried in a frying pan without oil at minimum temperature. To do this, they are poured into a bowl and, with continuous stirring, heated for 15-20 minutes until the moisture has completely evaporated. Do not overcook or fry.
The shelf life of walnuts is affected not by the fact of washing, but by improper drying. Wet ones quickly sour and mold.
How to dry only kernels without shells
Dried nut kernels
You can also dry only the kernels. The advantages of this method are clear. You can dry more nuts.
To dry the kernels, an oven preheated to 40 degrees is most often used. First, the kernels are taken out of the shell, cleaned and placed on a baking sheet. There is no need to wash the kernels!
Please note that if the kernels are of a different color and smell unpleasant, they should be thrown away. They're gone.
A longer method is drying in boxes and trays. You will spend 3-4 days on the whole process.
Basic principles of storage
To successfully store walnuts and pine nuts, a number of conditions must be met:
- quality of the original product – premium and 1st grade;
- room temperature +5…+15°;
- humidity 40-60%;
- regular ventilation;
- breathable packaging;
- inaccessibility to rodents, birds, insects.
In an apartment, it is recommended to store walnuts in shell in a dark, ventilated place at a temperature of +22...+25°, humidity up to 60%. Unpeeled fruits are stored at room temperature for about 1 year, shelled ones - no longer than 2 weeks. To increase shelf life, it is recommended to place peeled walnuts in the freezer.
Preparation
It consists of proper collection, sorting and drying:
- Collection. It is advisable to harvest in clear weather. Collect nuts in a gentle manner so that the shells are damaged to a minimum. If there is dirt on the surface, they must be washed with water.
- Sorting. It is necessary to select only that material that has no damage to the shell.
- Drying. This is a very important stage. To do this, place the product in a well-ventilated area for several days. Laying it in 1 layer on paper, removing the remaining shell. After 2-4 days, you need to turn the nuts over and let them dry again for the same amount. To save time, you can dry them in the oven at a temperature of 60-65 degrees for 2 hours.
How to store nuts in shell?
After carefully preparing the nuts, you need to choose a storage location. It should be dark and ventilated. Sun rays are harmful to the product. Next, you need to decide on the container.
Wooden boxes or barrels are suitable for storing a large batch of nuts, but in this case, increased demands must be made on environmental conditions.
In an apartment, which is 23 grams, nuts can be kept for up to six months if they are placed in fabric bags and taken to a dark place. The shelf life increases; if they are placed on the lower shelves in the refrigerator, the shelf life increases to 1 g. But at low temperatures, but with high humidity, nuts should be stored for no longer than 6 months.
When stored in fabric bags, they need to be provided with minimal air humidity. It is important to remember that nuts need to be ventilated and inspected periodically, and spoiled ones must be removed.
Tara
For long-term storage, you need to choose the right container. It must be durable and well ventilated. For dried fruits in shell, it is recommended to use:
- polymer nets for vegetables;
- cellular plastic fruit boxes;
- corrugated cardboard boxes;
- fabric bags.
Storing walnuts in a bag or basket.
Peeled walnuts are stored in airtight containers with lids and in vacuum jars. Thick plastic bags are only suitable for storage in the freezer. To increase shelf life, you can use a household vacuum sealer. In an airless space, oxidation processes stop, which increases the storage time by 2 times.
Blanks
One way to store peeled kernels is to prepare preparations, for example, nuts in honey. To do this, you need to combine bee honey with kernels in a 2:1 ratio. You can eat the dish immediately, or you can let it brew in a cool place for several days. Such preparations should be stored in a household refrigerator in a closed, sterile container. Product shelf life is 1 year.
How to properly store walnuts at home
Nuts are rich in fat. Under the influence of heat, they split, giving the products a rancid smell and taste. It is important to know the conditions and rules for storing walnuts at home to prevent this from happening.
For long-term storage, it is not recommended to purchase peeled ones. It is better to buy it in shell and remove it yourself. Then there will be exact confidence in the quality of the kernels, their dryness and compliance with storage conditions.
What should I do if the kernels start to deteriorate? Is it possible to store the nuts in the freezer? If rot or mold or any suspicious plaque appears, there is no point in resuscitating the nuts, much less using them for food. Freezing, boiling, calcining is useless. This way, only the appearance is saved, but aflatoxins have already formed in the fruits, which are not excreted from the body, cause allergies and damage the liver.
In a shell
Nuts need to be provided with the correct microclimate in order to preserve them for up to 2 years. The optimal solution to the question of how to store walnuts in shell is to maintain the temperature at +5...+15° and humidity not higher than 60%. The conditions are no less strict than, for example, when storing salted lard. If it is not possible to create such parameters, the fruits are kept at room temperature for no longer than 1 year.
Step-by-step storage instructions:
- Sort the fruits, sort out the cracked ones;
- rinse thoroughly and dry;
- arrange in nets, boxes with holes;
- place in the pantry, on the balcony, protected from light;
- ventilate the room once a week;
- review inventory status once a month.
Peeled halves and chopped walnuts
A product without a natural casing quickly deteriorates. Store peeled walnuts in the refrigerator in sealed containers made of plastic, glass or tin for no longer than 6 months. At room temperature, the fruits can be stored for no more than 2 weeks.
Do you wash nuts before drying?
Not really
To extend shelf life, peeled nuts can be frozen. To do this, they are packaged in convenient portions in bags or food containers. They will keep in the freezer for up to 1 year. This method can also be used to preserve pomegranate seeds.
When vacuum-packed chopped nut kernels and halves, the life expectancy is doubled. You can buy a vacuum cleaner in any online store, in the small household appliances section.
It is unacceptable to keep peeled kernels in a fabric container at room conditions for a long time. Moths form on them, which will spoil not only nuts and cereals, but also woolen items in the closet. It is extremely difficult to get rid of the parasite later.
What to save in
Not only the optimal storage location in the house is selected, but also suitable containers. It must be clean, spacious and airtight.
Choosing containers for a balcony or pantry
It is allowed to choose different types of containers:
- cardboard boxes;
- canvas bags without holes;
- plastic containers;
- wooden boxes.
Attention! Any container must be perfectly clean, durable and free of foreign odors.
If a box is selected, paraffin paper or corrugated cardboard is placed on its bottom. It is advisable to install the boxes in a dark closet or on a warm balcony. The bags are hung and the boxes are placed on the shelves.
With a small number of kernels, they can easily be placed in the refrigerator, where their shelf life increases. The main condition is to maintain a cool temperature.
It is recommended to peel the nuts before storing because it is much easier to store the kernels this way. At any time you can enjoy a tasty and healthy product, add it to salads and other dishes. There should be no black kernels, leaves, partitions or other unnecessary elements.
Experts recommend choosing boxes made of wood or cardboard. It is allowed to use containers made of glass or clay. For example, kernels are preserved well in clay pots with lids.
Attention! It is advisable to refuse plastic bags: nuts often rot in them, losing their unique taste.
If glass containers are used, they must be clean and dry. It comes with a screw-on or snap-on lid.
Refrigerator containers
If you plan to keep the kernels in the refrigerator, you can choose the following types of containers:
- plastic containers that act as part of the refrigerator, but they are large in size, so they are used for a significant amount of nuts;
- glass jars closed with rubber lids;
- small plastic containers equipped with airtight lids, and they should be made only of food-grade plastic;
- ceramic products.
It is allowed to use canvas bags for the refrigerator, but they must be tied and placed far from other products, since walnuts have an unpleasant ability to absorb odors.
Preparing to Freeze
If the housewife plans to freeze a few kernels, the procedure is performed only after proper sorting. Cleaned and well dried, they are placed in a canvas bag or paper. Freezing in food-grade plastic containers or wooden containers is allowed.
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