Buying nuts in the store, the buyer cannot be sure of the high quality of the products. The best option is to harvest fresh nuts from the tree in the fall. You can store the product in many ways, subjecting it to pre-processing. One of the simple types of processing is drying the pine nuts and walnuts in the oven. But in order not to overdry the kernels, you need to know the basic rules for drying this tasty and nutritious product.

Highlights

For drying, it is necessary to select healthy, ripe fruits. If you select unripe nuts, during the drying process, the kernels will lose most of their moisture and become tasteless. Therefore, it is important to choose the ripened fruits. Nuts should be chopped, fruits should be selected according to size and degree of maturity. Wash kernels thoroughly, dry on a napkin.

We spread walnuts of the same size on a clean, dry baking sheet, and send them to the oven at a temperature of 45 degrees. Do not significantly increase the temperature, because the kernels will dry out and lose their taste.

How much to dry nuts in the oven? It is optimal to dry the kernels for 2-3 hours. In order for moisture to evaporate faster from the product, it is recommended to open the cabinet door. 10-15 minutes before the end of the recommended drying time, you can increase the temperature to 70 degrees. To make sure the product is ready, you need to try one of the nucleoli. It should break easily and crumble slightly.

Before sending the product for storage, remove the nuts from the oven and leave in a baking sheet at room temperature. Hot walnuts are not recommended for storage. From high temperature, peanut butter will give an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. Drying walnuts in the oven is necessary in small portions to maintain the high quality of the kernels.

Dry pine nuts

To dry pine nuts, they must first be removed from the shell. For drying, you can choose one of the following methods:

• Electric drying.
• In the oven.
• In the pan.
• Spread out on a clean cloth and placed in the sun.
• In the attic.

A convenient and quick way is to use an electric dryer. Having decomposed the kernels extracted from the shell on specialized trays, you only need to select the appropriate mode and start the device. However, far from every housewife has an electric dryer. Therefore, you can choose another suitable method.

Pine nuts can be dried as well as walnuts in a pan or in the oven. At what temperature should nuts be dried in the oven? The optimum temperature regime is 120 degrees. Given that the pine nuts are small in size, they need to be dried no longer than half an hour. Also, as in the case with walnuts, cedar kernels, after drying in the oven, must be removed from the oven and cooled at room temperature.

If it is not possible to dry the kernels in the oven, you can lay them out in the sun, after laying a clean cloth. For city dwellers, it is recommended to use a balcony or a loggia, which receives a sufficient amount of sunlight. When using this method, do not forget about the variability of weather conditions. In case of rain, the nuts need to be cleaned into the room, avoiding getting wet.

To summarize

One of the convenient ways to store nut kernels is to dry them. The most suitable option is drying in the oven. In order to qualitatively dry the nucleoli of a walnut or pine nut, it is necessary to clean them from the shell. Then rinse them under running water, dry on a napkin and spread in small portions on a baking sheet.

The optimum temperature for drying is 200 degrees for walnuts and 120 for cedar kernels.

Not sure how to fry walnuts? This article will help you. We will tell and show how to do it correctly using a frying pan.

Walnuts are very often used in cooking.

They enrich any dish with their bright aroma, vitamins and essential elements.

They can be used to create cutlets, salads, sauces, pastries and a variety of desserts.

You can also use walnut kernels as a light and hearty snack.

Thanks to their nutritional properties, you will be able to saturate your body with the necessary substances, as well as receive the necessary charge of energy.

Most often, fried nut kernels are used in cooking. There are several methods for making hearty nuts.

This article describes a recipe for frying walnut kernels in a pan. For frying, it is advisable to use nuts in the shell.

Such a product is of better quality, does not have an unpleasant odor and has a more saturated taste.

Do not prepare kernels in advance. Roasting walnuts does not take more than 15 minutes, so you can start cooking them at any time. The most delicious nuts are obtained immediately after manufacture.

Ingredients

• walnuts - in the required quantity.

  COOKING SEQUENCE

  We remove high-quality kernels from a thick-walled peel by any method and put the pieces of nuts in a stewpan with a thick bottom. The pan should be hot. This will save time on the manufacture of the product.

  We fry the kernels at low temperature, constantly mixing the mass (using a silicone or bamboo spatula).

  After the grains acquire a creamy shade and begin to exude a pleasant and characteristic nutty aroma, remove the stewpan from the stove.

It is easy to separate the nucleus from the thin husk.

Foreword

Walnut (another name Voloshsky) is loved by everyone. But even those who live in places of its growth do not always know how to prepare a nutritious and healthy product for the future. We will tell you how to dry walnuts to maximize their usefulness.

Do you have a walnut in your garden yet?

Walnut is incredibly healthy. In terms of vitamins, it significantly exceeds many berries and fruits, and in calories even meat, it contains almost 20% protein. It is recommended for nursing mothers to improve lactation. It has been established that if there is a walnut regularly, the state of the walls of the vessels improves, and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease decreases. It turns out that it is also useful for the treatment of the thyroid gland due to its high iodine content. And this is far from all of its useful properties.

Walnut grows most fruitfully in the southern regions. does not require, but you need to take care of the crop. The fruits ripen in September, near the end.

It is easy to determine the degree of maturity: as soon as the green shell begins to crack, the time has come.

Usually the first to ripen are those that are lower to the ground, and then fall off. Experienced nut growers are advised to start collecting it from them until they are wet from the ground. After already shake off those that remained on the tree. They can also be checked for maturity: under the green shell there should be a hard shell.

As soon as the crop is harvested, they begin to pick off the pericarp on each nut. If this is not done, the fruits will turn black and become unfit for food. It is important to note that fresh walnut contains almost 40% moisture and is very susceptible to decay. Therefore, the crop must be well dried and it will be preserved until next year. So, the drying process can be carried out in two ways - natural and artificial.

Is it realistic to dry a nut in a natural way?

The quality of the product and the duration of its storage depend on how to dry walnuts. Naturally considered a method in which it dries under the influence of sunlight. Usually, some material is spread on the ground and mature fruits are laid on it in one layer. For two, or even three weeks, they dry. But in this case, the crop is not safe from unexpected rains, as well as dew and other moisture. Now this method of drying walnuts is considered obsolete, because due to a long stay on the ground there is a chance of the development of harmful microorganisms, and the ingress of moisture can lead to spoilage of the fruit. Taste also falls. Conservative gardeners still use this drying method.

More advanced ones worry about the crop and dry nuts naturally, but in special rooms - drying sheds with good air circulation and well-ventilated. For this, wooden grill trays are used. The walnut is peeled, sorted and washed, after which it is laid out on trays in one layer. Prepared boxes are stacked on special racks so that everyone has free access to air for a week. Dried nuts can be eaten and used for planting.

Often on sale you can find moldy fruits. And it does not depend on how the walnuts are dried. This means that their suppliers did not take care to minimize humidity. 5-8% is considered safe. They can be saved from this in this way: put the fruits in mesh bags and put for 2-3 days near the heated battery, excess moisture will go away.

Artificial drying - we process the nut correctly

Artificial drying of walnuts is also called fire. This procedure is carried out in special lock dryers with a natural flow of air. The bottom line is the use of special high-power fans. They direct hot air directly to the fruits from all sides and warm them. This method compares favorably with the natural one in that the drying process is reduced to a maximum of two days and can be carried out at any time of the year. Yes, and the physical strength of a person is spent less. On the other hand, this method requires more care and skill.

Every year a person improves the device for drying nuts. Here, for example, canal sieves, on which the fruits are loaded, and they move in heated air. While there is movement from the starting point to the finish, drying ends. It is important to dry the walnut correctly - with the fire method, observe a temperature of 55–57 ° C.

The above methods are applicable to large volumes. But at home, you can also dry the walnut to make its taste more saturated.

If dried in the shell, the nut is stored longer even under not very favorable conditions. For drying, select only mature fruits and place in an oven heated to 90 ° C for 2–2.5 hours. After shutting down, leave it to cool completely.

We put the peeled nuts on a baking sheet covered with culinary foil so that they do not touch each other. We put in the oven at a temperature of 180 ° C for 10 minutes. When 5 minutes have passed, stir nuts.

Another option for drying walnuts is in the microwave. To do this, peel them, rinse and allow water to drain. Then we put it in a mold in one layer, set the power to 750 watts. It will be enough 8 minutes. After that, put the nuts on a towel for two hours. Well-dried kernels should have a light brown color. The disadvantage of this method is that when the microwave is dried, the nuts click and can fly into pieces due to humidity.

walnut preservation 0–10 ° C, indoors - one year, in the refrigerator up to four years. If the nut is dry, it is easy to fix: soak it in a weak solution of salt water for five days.

Roasting hazelnuts dries the nut, making it crispier and giving natural fats a nutty brownish color. Roasted hazelnuts taste good, but overcooking will make the nuts bitter. Roasted nuts can be used in recipes, or you can eat just like that.

How to fry hazelnuts in the oven

2.   Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.

3.   When the oven heats up, place the baking tray with nuts on the wire rack in the middle of the oven.

4.   Roast nuts for 12 minutes, then check their readiness. If they emit a nutty smell and they become slightly brown, then the hazelnut is ready.

5. Check the nuts carefully so that they are not overcooked. If you want to fry hazelnuts longer, preheat the oven to 125 ºC and fry for 15-20 minutes.

How to fry hazelnuts in a pan

1.   Put the hazelnuts in a pan with a thick bottom in one layer.

2.   Place the pan on the stove over medium heat.

3.   Stir the hazelnuts every minute.

4.   Watch carefully for hazelnuts when it starts to turn brown and emit a nutty smell. Hazelnuts are very easy to overcook.

5. Cook the hazelnuts for 5-10 minutes until the nuts are brittle and brown.

6. When the nuts turn brown, immediately remove the hazelnuts from the stove so as not to overcook.

How to fry hazelnuts on an open fire

1.   Put the peeled hazelnuts in a heat-resistant dish or pan and carefully place the nuts on hot coals.

2.   Shake the nuts regularly every 2-3 minutes, depending on the heat, until they turn brown, brown and brittle.

How to remove thin husk from hazelnuts

1.   Gently transfer the hot roasted nuts to a clean kitchen towel.

2. Wrap the nuts in a towel and gently rub them together.

3.   So you remove the husk that has almost fallen off, like a paper, which has a bitter taste.

4.   Serve. Many people like to eat hazelnuts just like that, others add nuts to salad, meat dishes and many other recipes.

Advice

2.   Remove roasted nuts from a pan or heat-resistant dishes immediately after they have been cooked so as not to overcook them.

Warning

Many people know that when they buy walnuts in the market, they essentially get a "pig in a poke." After all, it is not known what may be under the shell: a delicious nucleolus or black rotted lump.

The condition of walnuts depends not only on the degree of maturity, but also on how they were dried and in what 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, including peeled ones, most often lie in the open air, and dust and other harmful substances get on them.

It is advisable not to store the 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 calcined in a pan or placed for a short time in a medium-heated oven. Only after that they can be eaten without worrying about their health.

Therefore, it is best to buy recently picked nuts and dry them yourself for further storage. But, of course, those who have their own walnut growing in the garden or front garden will benefit.

When to collect walnuts for drying

Those who have seen walnuts grow know that they are in the pericarp - a peel that is first green in color and then darkens.

The degree of ripeness of the nut can be determined by the cracked peel.

Not all ripen nuts at once. First, the lower ones ripen, and then those that grow on the upper branches of the tree.

Already ripened nuts themselves come off the branches and fall to the ground. So they need to be collected first. After all, from a long stay on the ground they become damp, covered with dirt, moldy. Such nuts will not be able to be stored for long 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 tiring and "dirty", as the upper peel, due to the presence of coloring matter in it, greatly soils both hands and clothes. Therefore, peel, wearing gloves. Then the nuts are dried.

If there are a lot of nuts, then they are dried in the old, proven way, decomposed on the ground.

How to Dry Walnuts in the Sun

• For this purpose, tarpaulin or other waterproof fabric is spread on the ground and nuts are scattered on it in one layer.
• Leave the nuts for several days in the sun. But this method, although old, but not entirely successful. After all, you need to be sure that in the coming days there will be no precipitation and no decrease in temperature.

If it is rainy, you can dry the nuts in the attic. But there should be enough warmth, completely dry, in addition, you need good ventilation.

• With this drying method, the nuts are cleaned from the pericarp, sorted by size, washed in cold water.
• Then they are freely laid out on racks with a grill so that they have access to fresh air. In this form, the nuts dry for several days. But again, this can not always be done in wet weather.

If there are few nuts, you can dry them in the apartment by spreading fabric or newspapers on the floor. Choose a place so that there is constant access to fresh air.

How to Dry Walnuts in a Dryer

If there are special dryers, then the drying of walnuts is reduced by several days. The bottom line is that the warm air in the dryer circulates through the fans, drying nuts from all sides. It is only necessary to monitor the process and turn the nuts on time.

How to Dry Walnuts in the Oven

• Walnuts are 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 put in an oven heated to 40-45 °. Some believe that you can increase the temperature so that the process goes faster. But in this case, the nuts can be boiled, become oily, they will have an unpleasant aftertaste.
• The 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 another half hour. Drying time depends on the size of the fruit, its degree of maturity and moisture.
• To check readiness, you need to chop the nut and try. Well-dried nuts will easily break the nucleolus.
• Walnuts are removed from the oven and left in the air so that they ripen a little more. If after this the kernels are as if rubber and soft, then the nuts will need to be put in the oven for a short while.

How to dry unshelled walnuts

Cracked nuts are cracked, kernels are pulled out. Unpacked nuts are laid out on trays, baking sheets and left for two to three days.