Many people know that by buying walnuts on the market, they are essentially buying "a cat in a bag." After all, it is not known what might be under the shell: a tasty nucleolus or black, rotted into pieces.
The condition of walnuts depends not only on the degree of maturity, but also on how they were dried and in which form they were stored.
Those who prefer to buy walnuts already peeled should be sure of their purity and the absence of microbes in them. After all, walnuts, and cleaned including, most often lie under the open sky, and dust and other harmful substances fall on them.
It is advisable not to store peeled purchased nuts for a long time, but before use, wash them in cold water, put them on a towel and dry them. Then they need to be ignited in a frying pan or placed for a short time in a medium oven. Only then can they be eaten without worrying about their health.
Therefore, it is best to buy freshly picked nuts and dry them themselves for further storage. But, of course, the winners are those who grow their walnuts in the garden or front garden.
When to collect walnuts for drying
Who has seen walnuts grow, they know that they are in the pericarp - the peel, which is green first, and then darkens.
The degree of ripeness of the nut can be determined by the already peeled this peel. Nuts ripen not all at once. First, the lower ripen, and then those that grow on the upper branches of the tree.
Already ripened nuts themselves break away from the branches and fall to the ground. So they need to collect in the first place. After all, from a long stay on the ground, they become damp, covered with mud, moldy. Such nuts cannot be stored for a long time even in favorable conditions. Then shake off the tree and the remaining nuts.
Before drying, the nuts are cleaned of green pericarp. This occupation is tedious and “dirty”, since the upper skin, due to the presence of coloring matter in it, is very dirty for both hands and clothing. Therefore, clean the skin by wearing gloves. Then the nuts are dried.
If there are many nuts, they are dried in the old, proven way, laid out on the ground.
How to dry walnuts in the sun
- For this purpose, a tarpaulin or other waterproof fabric is spread on the ground and nuts are scattered on it in one layer.
- Nuts are left for a few days in the sun. But this method, though old, is not entirely successful. After all, you need to be sure that in the coming days there will be no precipitation and a decrease in temperature.
If the weather is rainy, you can dry the nuts in the attic. But there should be warm enough, completely dry, in addition, you will need good ventilation.
- With this method of drying, the nuts are cleaned from the pericarp, sorted by size, washed in cold water.
- Then freely lay them out on racks with a grill so that they have access to fresh air. In this form, the nuts dry for several days. But then again it is not always possible to perform in wet weather.
If there are few nuts, you can dry them in the apartment by spreading fabric or newspapers on the floor. The place is chosen such that there is a constant access of fresh air.
How to dry walnuts in a dryer
If there are special dryers, then drying the walnut is reduced by several days. The bottom line is that the warm air in the dryer is circulated with the help of fans, drying the nuts from all sides. It is only necessary to monitor the process and turn the nuts in time.
How to dry walnuts in the oven
- Walnut is peeled, sorted by size, washed and dried from excess moisture on a towel.
- Then nuts of the same size are placed on a baking sheet and placed in an oven heated to 40-45 °. Some believe that it is possible to raise the temperature so that the process goes faster. But in this case, the nuts can be cooked, become oily, they will have an unpleasant taste.
- Nuts are dried in the oven for 2-3 hours. It is advisable to keep the door ajar. At the end of drying, the temperature is raised to 70 ° and the nuts are kept in the oven for about half an hour. Drying time depends on the size of the fruit, their degree of maturity and humidity.
- To check readiness, the nut should be chopped and tasted. In well-dried nuts, the nucleolus will break easily.
- Pull the walnuts out of the oven and leave them in the air for some more ripening. If, after this, the nucleoli are like rubber and soft, then the nuts will need to be put in the oven for a while.
How to dry walnuts without a shell
Already dried nuts split, take out the nucleoli. Nuts without shell are laid out on trays, trays and left for two or three days.
Kernels can be put in the oven and dried with the door ajar at a low temperature. The heat should not be done, as the nuts will get a burnt taste.
Store peeled nuts in fabric bags or well-closed cans in a dry cool place for 3-4 months. In the fridge, the nuts can be stored a little longer, if you put them in a sealed bag.
Shelled nuts are stored in boxes, crates, nets. To reduce the humidity, nuts are placed near the radiators for several days, and then removed again in a cool place. The shelf life of about a year, that is, until the next harvest.
