Pine nuts are widely known for their beneficial properties. They provide the human body with vitamins of group B, A, P, C, E, as well as manganese, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper. The content of boron and tryptophan allows you to increase physical endurance and promote good sleep, and a small amount of nuts satisfy the daily human need for protein foods. Healthy, tasty and nutritious, pine nuts should be present in the daily diet.. His small portion in a salad or dessert will saturate the body with nutrients and help maintain health. Let's talk more about how to store this useful product for the winter at home.
Table of contents
How many pine nuts are stored?
Pine nut does not have a long shelf life. This is due to the chemical composition, a significant proportion of which are vegetable fats. If storage conditions are not followed, fats change their properties, giving the nut flavor to rancidity. Mold and loss of characteristic aftertaste are also signs of a spoiled product, i.e. terms and conditions of storage of this valuable and rather expensive product were violated.
It should be noted that the pine nut is a nut only conditionally. This name stuck in cooking. So in the minds of the consumer stuck opinion that all nuts have a long shelf life. Pine nuts are seeds of Siberian cedar pine, well protected from external damage by durable shells and hidden in a cone.. Being under such protectionnuts do not lose their nutritional and beneficial properties for six months, in a purified form, the shelf life is reduced to 2-3 months, subject to certain rules.
Signs of violation of the terms and conditions of storage may be a change in the color of the core, the presence of mold or dark spots on the grains. The taste of pine nuts changes dramatically - the taste becomes initially more sour, and then rancid and sharp.
Selection of pine nuts for storage
Pine nuts are best consumed in small portions. It will be useful for health (the valuable properties of pine nuts are absorbed by the human body by 99%), and will not make us think about the long-term storage of large volumes. The choice of nuts for eating has some peculiarities. - the nut should not be excessively dry, interspersed with powder (stabilizer) or be in a bright room for a long time.
When there is a need to preserve a large amount of nuts, pay attention to the raw materials - it is important how all components look like - cones, shells, cedar nut kernels. The origin of the product also plays a role - the nuts from the Siberian taiga are better preserved. For Chinese nuts should be taken more carefully - among them are often modified or damaged samples.
Preparation, how to extract and store a nut at home
This stage ensures good preservation of the product and allows you to weed out those nuts, which for some reason raise doubts in quality.
Nuts are released from the bumps (how to do this, shown in the video below), pour a thin layer on a dry and flat surface.b (thick cloth or baking sheet) and dried for several days.Under natural conditions, it is possible to use heat from a stove or fire, which will speed up the drying process.
Overdrying adversely affects the quality of the product, so drying must be constantly monitored - mix, remove dubious nuts.
Storage of cones
The formation of the most natural conditions for the storage of cedar cones, allows you to save them as long as possible. This is the best way to store nuts.
Cones should not be crumpled and damaged. The integrity of the cones also means the integrity of the nuts. Crumpled and wet cones will not be stored, they should be selected among all the cones., peel, bypassing the damaged area, and try to dry whole good nuts.
Dry cool room - the best option for storing cones. It is necessary to free them from foliage or needles, if that is stuck to them when collected from the ground, to pack the cones in bags of natural fabric (canvas,flax) for several pieces, carefully tie, remove out of reach of rodents.
In terms of the apartment it is possible to store the cones in the refrigerator. The maximum storage time of nuts in this form - 6 monthat.
Inshell Pine Nut Storage
Inshell nuts also require selection and special storage conditions. In the selection of seeds should pay attention to the integrity of the shell, make sure that among them there are no spoiled, moldy nuts.
The product is spread in special gas bags, ceramic containers or glass jars, protected from light and moisture. Tightly closed and periodically inspected, these nuts will persist for 2-3 months. A dry, cool room (pantry or refrigerator door) is recommended as a storage space.
Keeping Peeled Nuts
How to clean pine nuts to those who need them in large quantities? After all, buying hardened kernels is not recommended.
There are several ways to extract pine nuts.at home, we give a few:
- Soak the nuts in the water on 12-24 hours. The shell becomes softer.
- Can pour boiling water for a few minutes (5-10 minutes) and then they are easier to throw.
- To facilitate the cleaning process they are often recommended. fry in a pan or calcine in the oven at a temperature of 110-120 ° C for 2-3 minutes (at the same time they should be tried). There is no need to add any fat, it does not need anything here.
- Another option similar to the previous one. Heat the nuts in a pan or oven (2-3 minutes at t = 110-120 ° C) and then immediately pour the red-hot nuts into a bowl with very cold water (it is advisable to throw ice into the water so that it is ice cold). The shell of nuts cracks due to the temperature and pressure difference.
Often, pine nuts are found in stores or markets in this form. It is best to eat a peeled nut right away, as it most likely has been stored for some time..
Peeled peanuts for storage should be light, uniform and dense, with a black dot on top. Nuts that are too wet will not be stored, and those that are too dry will most likely have been stored for a long time or sprinkled with a powder stabilizer. This significantly reduces the beneficial properties of cedar nucleoli and increases the risk of obtaining a product that has lost its valuable beneficial and taste properties.
Nuts are stored only in a tightly closed container, without contact with moisture. (storage tank should be dry, as well as raw materials), air and light. Storage location - only the refrigerator. Under all conditions, the nuts will not lose their nutritional and healing properties during 2-3 months.
Pine nuts in all forms can be stored in the freezer, in a tightly closed container. Peeled nut retains its properties in such conditions for six months, in a cone - up to a year. When storing in the freezer, attention should be paid to the tightness of the container in which the product is stored.
Roasted nuts and their storage
Pine nuts do not retain their beneficial properties when frying, but their taste is revealed even more with this variant of heat treatment. Frying is carried out in a dry frying pan without oil, over low or medium heat with constant stirring and control.. Fatty substances contained in nuts will become the natural basis for roasting. The product prepared in this way is immediately consumed and not stored as its fatty base has already been transformed due to heat.
The closer the pine nuts to the place of growth and to the time of their ripening, the more useful their use. Properly preserved pine nuts will delight you with its rich aroma, excellent taste, useful properties. If you plan to use the product as a raw material for the preparation of oils, recipes of traditional medicine, then the storage conditions should also be strictly observed. Improper storage conditions can lead to the development of mold and rancidityAfter all, in their origin, they are cedar seeds, and not nuts, which withstand longer aging periods.