Do pine nuts spoil?
Any nuts can go bad. It doesn’t matter whether they are in pine cones, or stored already peeled, without shells. The oils contained in the kernels oxidize. The rate of reaction depends on the ambient temperature and lighting. The warmer and brighter the surrounding conditions, the faster the process goes.
How to determine that a product is unfit for food:
Smell:
sometimes it is enough to smell the product to understand that it is spoiled. Rancid oil has an unpleasant aroma.
Taste: spoiled nuts are bitter and sometimes have a characteristic moldy taste. Fresh kernels are sweetish and have a spicy resin taste.
Colour: Greenish-gray spots on the shell are mold. Peeled nuts are yellow in color and taste bitter.
To keep pine nuts longer, provide conditions under which fat oxidation will slow down.
Pine nuts in shell should be stored in a dark, dry place at a temperature not exceeding +20°C. It is better to keep peeled kernels in the cold from -18°C to +5°C. Use airtight containers for packaging.
How long do nuts last?
The shelf life of pine nuts depends on whether they are in cones, shells, or shelled. The less processed the fruits are, the longer they will retain their beneficial qualities.
In cones
Well-dried buds retain their quality for 3-6 months. The scales easily absorb moisture, and over time, mold appears on the shells. Therefore, it is recommended to husk the grains.
In a shell
It is easier to store pine nuts in the shell. If the conditions are met, they will be edible in six months. Uncleaned nucleoli are stored in complete darkness, hermetically sealed.
Peeled
The shelf life of peeled cedar kernels is short - no more than 2 months. If you buy in bulk, then take in small quantities. The product will be used up quickly and will not go to waste.
Fried
The beans should be roasted on the day of use.
Preserving flavor after frying is problematic. Roasted pine nuts can be stored at home for no more than 3 days. Some companies produce shelled nuts in a vacuum pack. In this case, you can store shelled pine nuts for the period indicated on the package. The deadline is valid only for an unopened package. If the integrity of the packaging material is damaged, the shelf life is reduced to 8 weeks within the period specified by the manufacturer.
How long can peeled kernels be stored?
Since the fruit of the pine pine is a seed and not a nut, its shelf life is significantly shorter than that of typical nut representatives.
Nuts in shells are stored for no more than six months, shelled - about three months.
The short shelf life is due to the presence of vegetable fats, which, under inappropriate conditions, quickly oxidize and give the product an atypical bitterness.
What to look for when buying nuts
The duration of storage depends on the ability to choose the right nuts. A quality product is much easier to preserve. What should you pay attention to when choosing?
- Fresh pine cone seeds have a brown skin. The paler and yellower its color, the older the seed.
- The peeled grains of the new harvest have a light cream color, closer to milky.
- Integrity of nut kernels. They should be whole, not crushed. If the seed is flattened, it means that some of the oil has been squeezed out of it, but not to the pulp. Sometimes they try to sell such a nut as a whole one. The product is not suitable for storage.
- Seeds from cones, immediately after shelling, smell pleasantly like resin. Shelled grains and peeled kernels have a weaker, but the same characteristic aroma. If the product has an intense, chemical scent, it has been treated with a fragrance to remove the musty smell.
The season for collecting pine cones is at the beginning of autumn. It is better to buy nuts from the new harvest from the end of October.
Pay attention not only to the date, but also to the place of harvest. It is recommended to choose Russian-made products. Chinese pine nuts made from pine cones are much inferior in quality.
How to prepare pine nuts for storage
It is not recommended to store whole cones with seeds. Due to poor ventilation and accumulation of moisture between the scales, the development of mold fungi is possible. Most often, only nuts are stored. Whether or not to peel them is up to you. Proper storage is also necessary for other products, for example, bee bread.
Choose a storage location in your apartment based on the degree of purification of the nut. Keep in mind that fruits in and without shells have different shelf life and storage conditions.
How to dry pine nuts
Before storing nuts removed from cones, they must be properly dried.
Step 1: Break up the pine cones. Select whole, dry seeds without signs of damage by pests or molds.
Step 2: Spread on a horizontal surface in an even layer and leave for 3-5 days. Periodically stir the seeds, selecting defective fruits.
Step 3: The length of time to dry the pine nuts in their shell depends on the temperature and humidity. The hotter it is, the less time the drying step will take.
You should not deliberately speed up the process by heating. Avoid exposing cedar seeds to direct sunlight. Heating, like frying, leads to the transformation of fats. This greatly reduces shelf life.
If you still need to preserve the cedar cones whole, then place them in the refrigerator. Low temperatures will slow down oxidative processes and mold development, but will not protect against them.
Choose the most beautiful, whole and dry buds. Clean off dirt and place in a textile bag. The packaging material must be breathable. The fabric will wick away moisture and allow the buds to breathe.
What pine nuts do you buy most often?
Peeled In shell
How to peel nuts
It is convenient to have the product on hand, ready to use. Therefore, many people prefer to buy and store already shelled pine nuts.
If you make nut stocks in shells, then the time will come when you will need ways to clean them.
Frying
Heat the seeds in a frying pan with constant stirring. Fire is above average. The nuts are roasted in the oven at a temperature of 110–120°C. Heat treatment takes about 15 minutes. As a result, the shell becomes brittle and the kernels are easy to peel with your fingers.
Steaming
Pour boiling water over pine seeds for half an hour. Drain the liquid and dry the nuts. The skin will steam and clean with ease. This method, like the next one, has a drawback - soaked kernels cannot be stored for long periods of time.
Temperature shock
The shell, like any fragile material, is sensitive to temperature changes. If you roast the nuts and then cool them sharply in ice water, the skin will crack. Peeling nuts prepared in this way is easy.
Freezing
Keep the pine seeds in the bag in the freezer for about 6 hours.
Spread the grains in the bag in a thin layer and roll with a rolling pin. The fragile skin will easily crack with little force. The disadvantage is that not only the shell is crushed, but also the kernels. You need to choose fragments from nut crumbs. Remember that shelled seeds have a short shelf life.
Heat-treated nuts can be stored for no more than 2-3 days. Do not clean a large volume in advance.
Recommendations
The best time to buy pine nuts is the beginning of autumn (September-October). This is the most successful period for harvesting and final ripening. You shouldn't even try to store nuts in syrup or sugar. This dessert has a short shelf life - a maximum of three days.
Do not wash nuts before storing. This will make them vulnerable to mold and pathogenic bacteria. In general, it is not customary to wash nuts, even those without shells. They can only be scared away from possible debris. Owners of private houses can use a vacuum cleaner for these purposes and clean the nuts outside with a stream of air.
If nuts are extracted from freshly picked cones, they must be dried before storing. To do this, you should spread a suitable rag, pour out the seeds and spread them in an even layer not exceeding 5 cm. Periodically, these reserves will need to be stirred up. After a few days, the seeds can be poured into a special container for further storage.
Under what conditions should it be stored?
Peeled pine kernels are sold both in bulk and in vacuum packaging. Inshell nuts are usually packaged in bags or sold by weight.
For industrial packaging, storage times and conditions are indicated on the labels. Before opening vacuum-packed products, you should follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
Loose pine nuts should be stored at home under the following conditions:
- temperature no higher than +20°C, the lower the better;
- humidity less than 60%;
- lack of light;
- sealed container.
Selection of containers
The shelf life depends not only on comfortable conditions, but also on correctly selected containers. Each storage location has its own requirements for dishes:
Room conditions: Choose an airtight, light-proof container with a tightly sealed lid.
Refrigerator: Plastic and glass containers that reliably protect the contents from moisture and odors.
Freezer: It is convenient to use small, thick freezer bags. Containers with the same characteristics as refrigerator containers are suitable.
Basic requirements for cookware: reliable protection from light, moisture and aromas.
In a refrigerator
Low temperature slows down all chemical reactions, including the oxidation of oils, which results in spoilage of nuts. The refrigerator is a good place to store a small amount of peeled nuts.
It is in the refrigerator that the shelled kernels will last for about 2 months and will not lose their taste. If condensation collects in a container of nuts, the kernels must be dried. There is a high risk of mold growth.
If moldy spots or a musty or rancid smell appears, the cedar seeds will have to be thrown away. Therefore, it is recommended to keep a small supply in the refrigerator. It is better to freeze the remaining stocks.
In the freezer
Negative temperatures are ideal conditions for preserving fatty foods. The oxidation process in the freezer stops and the shelf life is extended.
Freeze the nut kernels in small portions, placing them in tight bags. Try not to re-freeze nuts. As a result, the product quickly deteriorates and loses its taste and aroma. Cleaned cedar grains are stored at sub-zero temperatures for at least 6 months.
Providing proper storage conditions for pine nuts is not so difficult. It is important to strictly follow the temperature regime and other recommendations whenever possible. Before using kernels, take a sample to ensure the suitability of the product. Nuts go rancid quickly, it’s a shame to ruin the dish.
Step-by-step instructions: how to hold it correctly and where?
Peeled
Peeled nuts are stored as follows:
- The batch being put into storage is sorted out. All nuts damaged during peeling - or those that were affected by pests - are rejected. Those that were incorrectly chopped, used for food, gnawed by animals or insects - are thrown away or composted.
- The kernels are placed in a container. If storage is carried out at temperatures above zero degrees Celsius, it should be stored in containers with holes for the “breathing” of nuts or in containers made of wicker (including synthetic) or fabric.
- Containers are placed in a dark, cool and ventilated place.
Under such conditions, peeled pine nut kernels can be stored for at least 6 months.
Not shelled
Inshell nuts should be stored in pantries or basements. There, at normal temperatures, in the absence of direct sunlight, high humidity and high temperatures, nuts can be stored for a long time.
They are stored as follows:
- The bulkhead is being rebuilt. All seeds showing signs of disease or damage are rejected.
- Selected nuts are poured into containers with access to ambient air. You can store nuts in their shells in an airtight container only when they are frozen or vacuum-stored. Without this, they must be placed in a container where the nuts can “breathe”.
Attention!
The storage temperature should not be higher than +18, but not lower than zero. At zero, nuts can undergo stratification and sprout. Air humidity should be no higher than 60%.
Fried
Roasted pine nut kernels are stored for literally several days. Therefore, they are not stored. But there are exceptions:
- Kernels are deep frozen. When stored at temperatures below -15 degrees, roasted nuts can be good for up to 1 year.
- Nuts in vacuum factory packaging. Until the package is opened, roasted nuts can be stored for the entire period specified by the manufacturer.
In cones
When storing pine cones, you must proceed as follows:
- Select cones for storage that are not damaged by animals or insects.
- Selected cones are poured into baskets or fabric bags that allow air to reach the contents.
- Containers with cones are stored in a dry and dark place.
- In such conditions, cones can be stored for up to 2 years.
Important!
To store nuts in pine cones, you need constant access to fresh air.
They are not stored frozen or in a vacuum - mainly because only pickers hold the knocked down cones in their hands - and they are usually not good with equipment more complex than a mechanical crusher. Nuts are delivered to industrial enterprises shelled and cleared of cone structures.
