How to peel pine nuts: at home and on an industrial scale, how to properly peel them, what to do when peeling

The benefits of pine nuts for humans are truly enormous. They nourish, heal, and when used correctly, the shell can even warm you by acting as fuel.

Only thoroughly cleaned and high-quality prepared pine nut kernels are allowed for consumption. Then they will be able to bring visible benefits, saturate the body with a number of vitamins and microelements. Kernels that have not undergone technically correct peeling, removal of debris, washing and drying can hardly be considered a useful product. But how to peel pine nuts correctly?

How to peel pine nuts at home

You really have to scratch your head about how you can peel pine nuts yourself at home. Small fruits are not much different from large seeds, but at the same time they have a rather thick shell. It is not always possible to crush it with your fingers, and the pliable kernel can be damaged if peeled carelessly. Experts use various methods and sometimes resort to outright tricks.

Tools and accessories

Depending on where you have to get the nut from: just from the shell or initially extracting the unshelled fruit from the cone, the choice of tools will depend.

To extract an unshelled nut from a cone, use a common hammer. Professionals approach this issue with imagination and create their own mills to obtain the harvest. There are also stationary peelers and crushers.

To crack the shell and separate the core of the house, any heavy objects are used, most often:

How to choose the right one

In markets and stores, pine nuts are sold in shelled and unpeeled form. Less common are nuts in cones.

When purchasing a purified product, pay attention to its color and smell. Preference is given to kernels that are light yellow in color with a pleasant nutty aroma.

Any foreign odors are unacceptable and indicate low quality.

The dark color of the grains indicates a violation of storage conditions or that the product is expired. These nuts will probably taste bitter. A greenish tint indicates that the grains are spoiled. It is dangerous to use such a product.

The shelf life of shelled nuts is short.

Therefore, first of all, pay attention to the production date on the packaging.

When buying nuts in shells, choose beautiful seeds that are bright brown in color. A quality product is heavy and smells good. The shell of a fresh nut is smooth, without cracks or stains.

The tips of fresh nuts in the shell should be light in color. Darkened edges indicate that the product is stale.

Mass procurement of pine nuts is carried out in September-October. If you bought a product with such a production date, then you have fully ripened and maximally healthy nuts.

How to properly extract nuts from a pine cone

To clear pine nuts from ripe cones as quickly as possible, you don’t need any special equipment. The ripened cone itself easily “gives away” the long-awaited fruits, with the slightest pressure. There are times when it is still necessary to apply more thorough mechanical action.

Let's approach the process correctly:

We put on gloves - there is resin on the cone, which is very difficult to wash off your hands
Already stained with resin? Then lubricate your hands with rich cream or sunflower oil.
Prepare two containers: a bucket for the husks and a bowl for the kernels
If the nuts do not fall out of the cone themselves, you can slightly twist it or rub it, holding it over a husk bucket
You can resort to light tapping with a hammer. The cone is placed on a wooden board (it is covered with cling film so as not to get stained with resin).

How to peel

Hobbyists know many ways to peel pine nuts with their own hands at home.

Using boiling water

Before removing the shell, you should soften the pine nuts. To do this, 15 - 30 minutes before peeling, the raw materials are immersed in hot water. Afterwards, it is allowed to dry - this way, when peeling, the shell will not stick to your hands and kernels.

We arm ourselves with improvised tools - hammer, pliers
Place the nut on a wooden board and fix it with pliers
Give a light, jerky blow with a hammer
We try not to harm the internal contents and follow personal safety rules when working with heavy objects
If a crack appears, it is recommended to continue peeling by hand.

With the help of cold

The main trick of the method is the use of low temperature - the freezer.

Place the nuts in the bag in the freezer for two to three hours.
After the time has passed, remove the bag and place it on a cutting board.
Armed with a rolling pin
Since it is very easy to peel pine nuts from frozen shells, you need to run a rolling pin over the bag without putting much effort
Separate the shells from the nut kernels by hand

This method has one caveat - cold affects the duration of storage. It is worth using the resulting product as soon as possible so that it does not have time to deteriorate.

How to clean nuts by roasting

The method is almost the most popular among lovers of cedar delicacies. It will be enough to have a baking sheet or frying pan. You can roast the nut either in the oven or over an open fire. Since the shells dry out, cracking pine nuts at home becomes a matter of a few minutes.

take a large dry frying pan;
pour out the unshelled product;
fry, stirring intensively for 15 - 20 minutes;
leave until completely cool;
Let's start cracking the shell.

In the oven:

nuts in shell are poured onto a baking sheet in a thin layer;
the oven is preheated to 120 degrees;
place the baking sheet in the cabinet for 20 minutes;
remove the shell and separate the kernels.

After this treatment, the shells are easily separated - just a light pressure is enough. Take this into account when peeling so as not to spoil the pliable kernel.

Application of the sudden temperature drop method

The dilemma of how best to peel pine nuts at home can be resolved by using a complex method of cold and heat.

We heat the nuts in any convenient way - in a frying pan, on a baking sheet, etc.
Without waiting for it to cool, pour the entire batch into cold water or a bowl with ice cubes
The result will be quick, all that remains is to separate the edible from the inedible

Practical advice

You can process nuts in completely different ways. The main condition is that the method should be convenient for you. It should also be remembered that the peeled product spoils very quickly, so it is recommended to peel the nuts immediately before eating them. Let's consider useful recommendations and tips:

Due to the high content of fatty substances in nuts, long-term storage will not be advisable for peeled kernels. The fact is that over time, this product acquires a bitter taste, losing all its beneficial properties for the body.
When purchasing pine nuts, you should make sure that their expiration date has not yet expired.
After purchasing nuts in a store or after processing, they should be washed in warm water and then dried a little. This must be done in order to remove fine dust from the shell. Additionally, safety and cleanliness are essential before consuming foods.
If you processed the nuts using water, they should be thoroughly dried. It is advisable to do this in the fresh air or in a well-ventilated, warm room. For the most uniform drying, it is recommended to turn the nuts periodically.
Under no circumstances should nuts be stored wet, as they will become moldy.
Please note that not only the kernels, but also the shell itself contains vitamins, microelements, and other useful substances. You can dry such waste raw materials and then use them to prepare various medicinal tinctures, inhalations and lotions. Such home remedies have a very pleasant taste and contain vitamins E and B, as well as resins and fatty acids. Such compositions are used for the treatment of colds, rheumatism, and other joint diseases.
To prevent the nuts from rolling on the table surface during processing, they must be placed in the hole of a wrench with a large diameter. After this, use a hammer or rolling pin to carefully crack the shell, using your hands to remove any remaining residue.
If you are going to extract nut kernels from cones in large quantities, then you need to do this with gloves. This way you will avoid unpleasant resin sticking to your hands.
Gutted cones, processing waste, and scales can be used as fertilizer for growing indoor plants, as well as for seedlings in the garden. In addition, these wastes are used in the field of cosmetology for baths, as well as as a hair rinse.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that cedar kernels are used for food both raw and fried. In addition, they can be used in cooking to make a wide variety of dishes. In folk medicine you can find recipes for preparing a honey-nut mixture, which is taken in the morning on an empty stomach to replenish your body with energy, as well as useful vitamins and substances.

How to remove debris and husks from shelled nuts

During the cleaning process, debris and scales are mixed with the nuts, which requires additional cleaning. The procedure can be carried out in several ways.

Sieve or round sieve. Two screening elements with cell diameters of 7 mm and 3 mm are used. The first time sifting is done using a coarse sieve, and then a fine sieve.
No special tools. A tarpaulin is laid out in the yard and nuts are thrown onto it from a distance of 5 meters with an ordinary shovel. Light debris will not be able to reach its destination, so only clean product will remain on the tarp.
Water. Pour nuts into a bowl of water. The garbage will not sink and will remain on the surface. It is collected, but the nuts will require additional drying.

Treatment after cleaning

After cleaning, the beans undergo further processing, which consists of the following procedures:

drying;
separation of the protective film;
wash;
sorting;
hermetically sealed packaging increases shelf life due to the absence of air penetration.

Industrial equipment sometimes damages grains, and their particles remain in the mass of the finished product. They are also sold at a reduced price as a low-quality product.

Calibration and sorting are carried out using special equipment. Based on their variety, shelled walnuts are divided into 3 categories:

Top grade. The allowed content of crushed grains is no more than 10% of the total mass.
First degree. They contain no more than 15% chopped nuts.
Low quality product. Crappy product can be 80%.

How to clean pine nuts on an industrial scale

Northerners are well aware of how workers peel pine nuts on an industrial scale . After all, cedar is grown there on a huge scale, and there are entire workshops for processing valuable raw materials. Previously, the entire process was based on human power. Now everything is automated. Huge industrial installations with a built-in computer only wait for instructions from a person to carry out the necessary stage of the cleaning procedure. Technological progress has significantly simplified work and accelerated the delivery of usable raw materials.

There are four main cleaning methods:

vacuum - shells are removed under high pressure;
soaking and frying – short-term soaking is replaced by rapid frying at high temperatures;
mechanical cleaning - large machines with splitting devices operate, pouring finished kernels into huge tanks;
calibration and crushing system - the shells are cracked, the clean product is sifted and calibrated.

Some manufacturers resort to another method - treatment with liquid nitrogen. It effectively helps to achieve results quickly, but is very expensive, which inexorably affects the pricing of the food product.

Of course, cleaning alone is not enough. The resulting nucleoli undergo a number of preparatory procedures:

washing;
drying;
peeling off the protective film;
sorting, etc.

And the last important stage in the production of shelled pine nuts is sealed packaging. When the kernels are completely deprived of air supply, the storage time increases significantly. Therefore, consumers can enjoy a fresh and healthy product any time they want.

The benefits of nuts have been known to people for a long time. Thanks to modern medical equipment and research, scientists were able to confirm the unique composition of the product, which has a beneficial effect on the human body. Nuts are used for cosmetic and medical purposes, as well as as an additional remedy for the treatment of a large number of different diseases.

How to pierce using devices

Real “cones”, who beat and collect cedar cones for a lot of money, use devices called cleaners and crushers for these purposes. You can consider them in more detail:

A crusher is a device that allows you to effectively extract pine nuts from cones. The simplest version of the crusher is the rubel, which is structurally similar to the board on which things are washed. A cedar cone is placed on a grater lying below and pressed down with a similar board of smaller dimensions that has a handle. After this, they begin to grind the cone between these graters, and the nut and husk fall out. In order not to lose the nuts, place some kind of container underneath, such as a bath basin, or put cellophane.
Some devices of real “bigwigs” are created independently. For example, homemade mills, which are a box equipped with shafts, one of which has a handle. An unprocessed pine cone is poured on top, and a tarpaulin or polyethylene is spread from below, in order not to lose the nuts, and sometimes a bag is hung. They twist the handle, and the cones that fall between the shafts are very well peeled.
In places where there are a lot of cedars, a very large number of pine cones are collected during the season. To produce high-quality processing for further storage, a wide variety of modern technologies and devices are used. Manual machines and automated devices that look like meat grinders and washboards have become quite widespread. Using a process of rubbing pine cones between ribbed work surfaces, workers shell the ripened nuts. Soaking and heating are also used to remove the shells. This helps the nuclei to release. However, this treatment also has a disadvantage - it negatively affects the nutritional properties of the seeds.
The most modern enterprises use a vacuum crusher for these purposes, which does not have a negative impact on the beneficial properties of pine nuts and preserves its kernels intact. When processed in this gentle way, cedar fruits are poured into an autoclave, where the pressure is gradually increased. With a subsequent sharp release of pressure, the shell shatters into small pieces, leaving the kernels intact. However, this method is not cheap and is only available to large businesses.

When peeling cedar cones in the forest, a regular fire is used. To do this, you just need to bake the cones in the ash, like potatoes. The heat melts the resin on the cones and burns out. The scales also come off much easier. So nuts are available.

There are a huge number of ways to clean cedar cones, so you should choose the one that is more accessible to you. Thus, at home they use freezing or locking, while in the industrial production of nuts, equipment that is financially accessible to the manufacturer is used.

Features of cleaning pine nuts

To enjoy the amazing taste of the kernels, you should first clean them. Each of them is enclosed in a hard shell, which makes them impossible to eat immediately. There are several proven ways to peel pine nuts at home.

Most often, a person tries to peel the fruits using the simplest and most proven method - gnawing the shell with his own teeth. It is highly undesirable to do this, as there is a high risk of damage to the enamel. Especially if you have to clean a large number of cores.

Pine nuts in the shell can be cracked using garlic presses and other available means. This will turn the kernels into a homogeneous mess, which will then be difficult to use. Therefore, it is best to crack nuts using gentler methods that soften the shell, thereby preserving the integrity of the core.

Leading manufacturers of processing equipment

Leading equipment manufacturer in Europe – (France). Since 1970, it has been producing powerful full-cycle lines.

In the USA, Jessee Equipment Manufacturing is the leader. Over its 60-year history, the company has earned a reputation as a manufacturer of high-quality and reliable equipment. The company is actively introducing various innovative technologies, such as calibration of raw materials using a laser.

Its full-cycle line “CASCADE plus” with a throughput capacity of up to 400 kg/hour and low energy consumption has also proven itself well in the domestic market.

Tekhnika-Rostov assembles modular equipment systems that are easy to install and transport and meet the requirements of each client. The big advantage of this manufacturer's products is their affordable price and after-sales service.

How to quickly peel pine nuts at home

Cedar kernels are found in cones. To enjoy a truly high-quality and natural product that will have a large number of useful properties, you need to buy or prepare them in this form. Further cleaning activities are carried out in accordance with the following sequence:

Take rubber gloves. It is advisable not to carry out the cleaning procedure with bare hands. Cedar tree resin is very difficult to wash off the skin.
Prepare 2 separate containers in advance. One is for shelled nuts, and the second is for husks. In the future, you can use not only the kernels, but also all the remnants of the pine cone that remain after cleaning. A decoction is prepared from them in the proportion of 1 cup of husk per 1 liter of water. The resulting composition is used as an additional means for taking a bath. It helps a person relax and relieve nervous tension after a hard day at work. After such a bath, the quality of sleep significantly improves.
In order to extract pine nuts from a cone, you first need to twist it. Then rub it in your hands. As a result of this action, the necessary parts will easily move away from the base and they can be transferred to one of the prepared containers, and the resulting husk can be poured into the second.
The extracted kernels should be washed in warm water and then left to dry.

In order for the nuts to respond better to the cleaning process, they should be slightly dried. If the product is fresh, then 4-6 hours will suffice before proceeding with further processing.

The easiest way is to buy shelled nuts straight away. But in quality they will be much inferior to fresh kernels. If it is not possible to purchase or prepare the product yourself, then it is better to give preference to securely packaged preparations. You should not eat loose nuts. There is no guarantee that this is a high-quality and fresh product that has been stored correctly.

Pine nuts, which were obtained with your own hands when cleaning the cone, have a pleasant aroma and taste. Residues of resin remain on their surface.

Storage conditions

The shelf life of pine nuts depends on compliance with storage rules and on how they are stored - whether they are stored in cones, shells or peeled. Following the rules will allow you to enjoy the forest aroma of the fruit for a longer time. Properly selected, sorted raw materials must be thoroughly dried for 2 - 3 days. Exclude sun rays and artificial light! Nutrients are lost. Product preservation will be ensured by coolness, darkness, and dryness.

It is important to remember that grains easily absorb odors. The container must be tightly closed

Temperature changes are dangerous; good ventilation will not hurt.

Several ways to easily shell pine nuts

There are several methods to obtain cedar tree kernels that are completely ready for further use. Among them:

scald with boiling water;
to freeze;
fry in a frying pan;
warm up under high temperature in the oven;
sudden change in temperature. First, the nuts are fried, then sharply lowered into cold water;
break it with special tools or improvised means: tweezers for trimming dog claws, a garlic press and other sharp objects.

Small volume technology

If you are going to peel a small amount of pine cones, you can use the method without any special tools or equipment to peel pine nuts from the shell. To do this, you will only need available tools. This should include weighted objects. You can also use a change in temperature or plain water. Let's consider these methods separately.

Industrial cleaning

The nuts are poured into a drum, where the nuts are filtered from debris.
Then the nuts are calibrated by size on a special sieve.
The sorted nuts go into the crushing machine according to size.
The crusher shafts crack the shells.

There are several ways to free the nut from the shell:

Finally, the nuts are dried and packaged:

Pine nuts are a natural product that contains a huge amount of vitamins and microelements. Healthy pine nuts, processed at specialized enterprises, are an indispensable raw material for the production of medical and cosmetic preparations. If you want to taste the taste of this unusual nut, you need to remove it from the cone and then open the hard shell. Using a few simple and effective methods, you can quickly and safely peel pine nuts at home.

Tools

So, we continue to look at how to peel pine nuts from their shells. Before introducing you to the purification process, it should be noted that harvesting begins after August 20th. For this purpose, cones are collected in advance from cedar forests. With a good harvest, when mature cones themselves fall from the trees to the ground under the influence of the wind, you can collect about 10 bags of nuts per day.

So, how to peel pine nuts from their shells? What tools will be needed for this? You can make your own equipment with which you can process pine cones:

Cone terr. This device has the shape of a square deep iron box without a bottom. Inside there is a roller with spikes. This grater has a handle on the outside. This device works on the principle of a meat grinder. To do this, you need to throw 1-2 buckets of pine cones into the box and twist them. The cones break and end up together with the nuts in a bag specially suspended and prepared in advance.
Sita. For the next step of shelling the pine nuts, you will need a sieve of two sizes. With their help, pine nuts are cleared of husks and debris. The sieves will differ in the diameter of the hole. In a sieve with large holes, primary processing is carried out, and with the help of a fine sieve, the nuts are processed even more thoroughly, clearing them of debris. After grating, the cones should initially be thrown onto a large sieve. The nuts that remain in the product should fall onto a plastic bag or film, which is placed under a sieve in advance. After this, the procedure is repeated, but on another product, with the smallest holes. This processing method will ultimately provide you with clean nuts without debris or husks.
Rubel. How to properly peel pine nuts further? At the next stage of cleansing, you will need a ruble, which is a tool similar to a simple washboard. Using this tool you can quickly peel pine nuts. The cones are placed on the ruble and pressed down on top with a board that has a handle. Using small and quick pressure, the lump is rubbed between the two surfaces. As a result, the nuts are separated, after which they must be cleaned of debris.

In addition, the technology for peeling pine nuts also involves the use of pliers, a hammer, and a garlic press. These devices are used if it is necessary to clean the pine cones.

How to get pine nuts from a pine cone

Extracting pine nuts from a cone at home is a simple procedure.

The cones have a large amount of resin, so it is advisable to wear household gloves.

If you have a large number of cones, you need to prepare two buckets, one of which will contain the husks and the other the nuts.

Pine cone with nuts

The nuts fall out of a ripe cone on their own, but to speed up this process, you can rub or twist the cone in your hands, holding it over a bucket intended for garbage, or beat it with a hammer, placing it on a board. In one hour, working alone, you will be able to clean a twelve-liter bucket. The result is 2.5 liters of nuts.

Pine nut and its shell

If you do get resin on your hands while working with a pine cone, you can get rid of it by using sunflower oil or any rich cream.

Professional “bigwigs” who perform such work for a good fee use special devices for this purpose called peelers and crushers.

The device allows you to quickly remove nuts

The simplest option is the rubel, which in its design resembles a washing board. A cone is placed on the lower part of such a “grater”, pressed down from above by a similar structure of a smaller size, equipped with a handle. The pine cone then rubs between two uneven planes, losing the precious nut.

Device for cleaning cedar cones

One of the devices of professional “bigwigs”, created with their own hands, is a mill in the form of a box equipped with rollers. To collect nuts, cellophane or tarpaulin is spread under this device, and in some cases a bag is suspended.

Homemade mill for cleaning pine nut cones

When cleaning pine cones in nature, you can use a fire. To do this, place cones in it, as when baking potatoes. The fire will cause the resin to burn out, after which the nuts can be easily removed by hand.

In addition, using a large container, you can boil the pine cones in boiling water, which will wash out the existing resin and soften the nut shells.

The heat of the fire will help clean the pine nuts

Video: how to quickly clean cedar cones

How to make a peeler with your own hands?

A homemade mill is the optimal solution for those who run a personal business processing pine nuts. Such simple, compact equipment can be used directly in the forest, collecting and immediately processing cones.

Materials and tools

To make a peeler with your own hands, you need the following materials:

2 ball bearings art. 205.
St. 3, 4 mm thick for the manufacture of rear, front, two side walls and two sidewalls.
4 steel corners measuring 2.2 x 2.5 cm for the rib stand.
2 bearing housings.
8 M10 bolts with hidden head.
8 M10 nuts.
The left and right axle shafts are from Art. 5.
2 side walls made of St.3, 4 mm thick.
32 M6 screws.
Pin screw M10.
54 peeling pins with a diameter of 6 mm.
Sections of seamless hot-rolled steel pipe: 25 cm 152x7 for the drum;
30 cm 20x3.5 for the handle shoulder;
3 cm 32x3.5 for the handle sleeve;
15 cm 32x6 for a grooved handle.

The handle axis is from Art.5.

You will also need the following tools:

screwdriver;
hacksaw for metal;
drill;
Bulgarian;
electric welding;
gas welding

Drawing

Below is a drawing with a description, using which it is quite possible to independently make a unit for peeling cones:

1 - rear wall;
2 — rib-stand;
3 — bearing housing;
4 — ball bearing;
5 — left axle shaft;
6 - bolt;
7 - nut;
8 - screw;
9 — side wall;
10 - peeler pin;
11 - drum;
12 — sidewall;
13 — right axle shaft;
14 — handle bushing;
15 — pin-screw;
16 — handle shoulder;
17 — handle axis;
18 — corrugated handle;
19 — anterior wall.

Manufacturing process

First, the drum is made.
Peeling pins are screwed to it in a checkerboard pattern.
The sidewalls in the shape of a disk are welded to the drum, and a hole is made in the center.
Bearing units are manufactured.
The handle that drives the mechanism is placed on the right half of the axle.
The bushing, handle shoulder and grooved handle are made.
The lower part of the shoulder tube, 30 cm long, is flattened, and then a hole with a diameter of 1.8 cm is made in it for the axis of the handle.
The shoulder handle, bushing and axle are welded together.
The finished drum is framed with steel walls, using corners and M6 screws for connections.
Grooves with a radius of 2.5 cm are made in the side walls so that the drum is correctly placed inside the structure.
Install ball bearings as shown in the drawing.
M10 bolts are welded into the side walls, next to the grooves.
Bearing units are placed on the bolts and secured with nuts.

Important!

It is better to order the production of bearing units, as parts of complex shapes, to specialists.

How to peel pine nuts at home

The nuts extracted from the cone have a very hard shell, which can be removed using several methods.

Some people prefer to pierce them with their teeth, however, this is not a safe option, since sharp fragments of the shell can cause injury.

Cleaning a nut with your teeth is a very unsafe activity.

Changes in temperature conditions can significantly affect the hardness of the nut shell.

Using the freezer

To make the shells brittle, place the nuts in the freezer for several hours.
Gently crush them using a rolling pin without removing them from the bag. Do not apply significant force when pressing: the kernels themselves may crumble along with the shell.

You can peel pine nut shells using a rolling pin.

When using this method, you should remember that after such cooling the nuts are not stored for a long time. For this reason, it is advisable to consume them as soon as possible.

Heating in a frying pan or baking tray

The second method involves exposing the nut shell to high temperatures, causing it to lose its strength.

Take a large dry frying pan and pour the nuts into it.
Stir them for 15–20 minutes while heating.
Cool the heated nuts and start cracking the shells using a minimum of effort.

Roasting pine nuts in a hot frying pan

You can achieve a similar effect by using a baking sheet.

Spread the nuts in a thin layer on the surface of the baking sheet.
Place it in the oven, preheated to 100–120 degrees. Within 10–20 minutes, the nutshell will crack on its own. If this does not happen, then crushing it with your fingers will not be difficult.

Pine nuts, dried on a baking sheet

Video: how to peel pine nuts using the oven

Soaking in hot water

Pine nuts soak very well in water. This property can be used for shelling.

To do this, in a container of suitable size, soak the nuts in warm or hot water, leaving them to cool completely for 15–30 minutes.
By absorbing water, the shell becomes soft and can be easily cracked with your fingers.

Boiling water softens the shell

You need to crack the pine nuts with your fingers, holding them across. The most vulnerable spot is located in the middle, and this is where most of the effort should be put. In this case, the movements must be smooth and careful, otherwise the nucleolus itself will split into two halves along with the shell.

Video: how to peel pine nuts from the shell using boiling water

Using temperature differences

You can deal with hard nut shells using two processes simultaneously - heating and cooling. To do this, nuts, well heated by any method, must be quickly poured into ice water - the result will not take long to arrive. You can simply soak them in cold water for a day, after which the shells will soften to the desired state.

How to pierce using devices

The simplest and most common way to clean pine nuts is to break the shells using any heavy objects. You can use a hammer, pliers, a heavy rolling pin, or a garlic press.

Cleaning pine nuts using improvised means

Video: how to crack pine nuts at home

In gardening

The shell helps to successfully fight fungi and insects in the garden. Phytoncides and flavonoids of raw materials destroy pests around plantings. The shell promotes the reproduction of beneficial microflora of the earth.

The raw material is used as fertilizer, as a natural catalyst for soil alkali. Mulch remains in garden areas for many years. To increase the benefits in floriculture, it is necessary to periodically add new portions of crushed shells.

Landscape design cannot do without shells. Garden paths are covered with raw materials. First, paths are dug to a depth of 15 cm. The laid first layer of gravel is compacted. A 10 cm high nut shell is poured on top of it.

Cedar shells are useful in many areas of human activity. If you have nuts available for consumption, do not throw away the shells. Dry and prepare an alcohol tincture. It can be stored for a long time and is used to enhance immunity and treat diseases.

Selection and storage of pine nuts

Whatever option you choose for peeling pine nuts, remember that it is advisable to quickly consume the peeled kernels. Having lost their natural packaging, they quickly lose their freshness and may spoil.

Peeled nuts contain a large amount of fat, which can go rancid if stored for a long time in a closed package. For this reason, when giving preference to purified store-bought products, check their expiration dates.

In addition, when purchasing peeled pine nuts by weight, it is advisable to wash them properly and bake them in a hot frying pan, which will avoid contamination by pathogenic organisms. After all, the conditions for transportation and storage of such goods sold on markets are very far from ideal.

Pay attention to the shelf life indicated on the packaging

Video: how to choose pine nuts in the store

By eating fresh pine nuts, you have the opportunity to provide your body with vitamins B1, B2, B3, E, in combination with fatty acids, and also prepare medicinal infusions based on the shell. The pleasant taste of this product, equally useful for adults and children, will be able to add new notes to a variety of dishes, endowing them with beneficial properties. And with the help of simple methods, repeatedly tested in practice, the process of shelling pine nuts will not require much time and effort.

Which is better: ready-made nuts or homemade peeling

There are different ways to use cedar nuts: they are introduced into the diet, they are made into oil, and even the remaining cake is used. Preparation of cosmetics and tinctures is also possible. In each case, high-quality raw materials are prepared.

When nuts are cleaned on an industrial scale, special equipment is used. Thanks to it, the shape and properties of the product are preserved.

Only pine nuts do not always meet expectations when purchased: an unpleasant taste appears (bitterness is felt), an uncharacteristic odor is a sign of long-term storage under improper conditions. In addition, you can buy a non-certified product. It is not suitable for eating or preparing cosmetics.

With self-cleaning, it becomes possible to control the quality of raw materials. In this case, it will be known exactly how long the pine nuts were stored. It must be remembered that they retain their properties without shell for 1 month. Unpeeled nuts can be stored for no longer than six months.