Selection and storage of peanuts at home

Peanuts are one of the most popular types of nuts, even though they are not. The product belongs to the legume family, but people are accustomed to consider it a nut. Today it is actively used in cooking, medicine and cosmetology. It contains many nutrients, vitamins and minerals that have a beneficial effect on the human body. In order not to provoke negative reactions in the body, you need to be able to choose and store groundnuts correctly.

Peanut selection

The most common peanuts found on store shelves are roasted, dried or shelled peanuts. Today, groundnuts are practically no longer sold in their natural shell. This greatly simplifies the process of cleaning the product before use. The packaged product will be of high quality and have a large number of useful properties. The main thing is to wash the nuts thoroughly after opening the package. This is done regardless of the manufacturer.

If you want to buy peanuts in shell and start cleaning and roasting them yourself, you need to know how to choose the right quality product. To do this, you must adhere to the following rules:

Ripe fruits should have a dry shell
. It contains hard and large beans, which are groundnut grains. If the pod is damp or bends, the product was stored in a damp area or was not dried properly after harvest. In this case, the grains are spoiled or have a rancid taste.
When shaking, a dull sound
. It is emitted by nuts when they come into contact with the walls of their natural shell. If the grains roll around inside, this indicates that they are very dry as a result of improper storage.
Uncleaned product should not have a musty or damp smell
. If there is a specific aroma, this indicates that the pods are stale.
There cannot be any visual changes or defects in the form of spots
.
With a high-quality product, when pressing on the pod, a cracking sound is heard
. It opens easily without the use of force or additional impact.

Before purchasing peeled fruits, they should be examined visually. If among them there are spoiled nuts, then no amount of washing or soap solutions will save the situation. It is best to try the peanuts before further use. High-quality grains should have a pleasant taste without any signs of bitterness.

Adobe Acrobat document (171 kb)

If possible, it is better to avoid buying crushed roasted or dried nuts. Unscrupulous sellers sometimes sell off remnants from old lots in this way. The fruits are simply not edible.

How to choose

Unshelled peanuts are carefully examined, first of all, paying attention to the pod. In mature nuts it is dry, and the nuts themselves should be quite large in size and elastic.

When shaking the pod, the nuts in contact with its walls should sound rather dull. If they rattle too loudly, this means that the beans are small in size. Or too dry as a result of violation of storage rules.

The smell of the pods should not be damp or musty. There should be no stains on the surface. When pressed, the pods should break easily, making a cracking noise, which will indicate the normal degree of drying.

When buying shelled peanuts, you should carefully examine the grains and make sure that there are none that have begun to spoil. They are easily recognized by the color of their skin: from red-brown it becomes brown or covered with dark spots.

It is advisable to evaluate the taste of the product before purchasing it. If possible, try a few nuts to make sure they do not bitter or rancid.

Unripe groundnuts taste similar to watery beans. This product should not be purchased.

For snack lovers, peanuts are sold in peeled form with added salt, sugar, and various spices.

And if the nut is crushed, this should alert you. This is often how unscrupulous manufacturers get rid of expired goods by mixing them with some fresh ones.

Storage tips

If you do not follow the rules for storing nuts, this can lead to the appearance of oil. Because of it, the product acquires a bitter taste and an unpleasant odor. A fungus begins to develop on the surface of the peanuts. If you eat such nuts, it will cause negative reactions in the body. The product becomes dangerous to human health.

In order for groundnuts to be healthy, you need to follow the rules for storing nuts at home. Among them:

For storage, use only dry containers
, which are closed with a lid for tightness. These can be glass jars or ceramic containers. The main thing is that you do not use plastic containers or plastic bags for storage. In them, groundnuts acquire a bitter taste and smell.
If there is no suitable container for storing nuts, then you can use fabric bags
. The shelf life of peanuts in them will be much shorter than in jars or containers.
The original packaging
is suitable for storing groundnuts only until it is opened. After this, the fruits must be transferred to a suitable container.
If you store peanuts in an open container, they will spoil within a short period of time and become bitter
.
Before placing nuts in the container in which they will be stored, they must be carefully inspected. All debris
, shells, and spoiled fruits, which can cause mold to appear on the remaining nuts, are from the
Peanuts with plaque
, insects or other negative signs are not recommended for consumption. The same goes for fruits that have become bitter. The products will negatively affect human well-being and health.
Peanuts can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. The main thing is that the fruits are not spoiled and there are no signs of oil on their surface.
Chopped nuts
are not suitable for long-term storage. They will begin to release oil, which will lead to a change in the taste and smell of the fruit. The peanuts will begin to become very bitter.
Unshelled peanuts
last longer than unshelled kernels.

Carefully!

Groundnuts are stored only in closed containers. If opened at room temperature, they will quickly deteriorate, and in the refrigerator they will become saturated with foreign odors, which will negatively affect the taste of the product.

Storing Unshelled Peanuts

A large supply of groundnuts that does not fit in the refrigerator must be stored only in a cool place where there is no direct sunlight, but there is air circulation.

If the product is stored in a dry place, this will lead to rapid drying of the fruit, which will simply wrinkle as a result. When peanuts are kept in a humid place for a long time, it leads to the formation of mold. Therefore, the humidity in the room where groundnuts are stored does not play any role.

Good to know!

The lower the room temperature, the longer the product will retain its fresh taste and beneficial qualities.

Storing shelled peanuts

Before sending peanuts for long-term storage, it is recommended to carry out several actions with them. First of all, it needs to be dried. Mold quickly forms on raw fruits, which will make them completely unsuitable for consumption.

To ensure that the nuts dry thoroughly, they are scattered on baking sheets. In this position, they should be left in a warm, dry place for several days. During this time they will dry out.

It is also good to dry peanuts using an electric dryer. The device is set to a temperature of 50-60 degrees. If you don't have the equipment, you can use a conventional oven. To avoid getting roasted grains, they should be stirred constantly.

How to store peanuts at home

It is best to store nuts in the refrigerator. But the latter has high humidity, so the grains are placed in a container and covered with a lid.

You should choose a jar so that the nuts completely fill it. If you fill the container halfway, the oxygen that gets inside will cause rapid oxidation of the product.

The refrigerator is the best place for grains. But there is a high percentage of humidity inside, and a certain capacity is needed. For example, a jar with a lid.

Storing Uncleaned

If a lot of pods are purchased and they cannot be placed in the refrigerator, they are kept in another cold and dark place. It is important that the room is well ventilated.

Proper storage of cleaned

Shelled nuts must be dried. If the kernels are soft and moist, they are scattered on a baking sheet and dried for several days in a dry and warm place. For example, above the oven.

An electric dryer is suitable for drying peanuts. The optimal temperature is 60 degrees. It is necessary to monitor the process and turn the grains so as not to dry out.

Nuts contain many beneficial substances. But vitamins and minerals disappear if the product storage rules are violated. Attention should be paid to the safety of peanuts.

Shelf life

The shelf life of peanuts depends on various external and internal factors. Each of them can increase or decrease it. In order for products to bring maximum benefits to the body, nuts must always be washed before consumption, and also remember the following shelf life:

in the shell
for up to 12 months. If peanuts are shelled, their shelf life is reduced, regardless of whether they are dried or roasted.
Without shells,
nuts are stored for 6 to 9 months. The main thing is to choose a dark, dry place for them.
In the refrigerator or freezer,
peeled peanuts retain all their beneficial qualities for 4-6 months and 9 months, respectively.

Packaged peanuts will be edible until the expiration date indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. If you open it, then the nuts must be poured into a dry container that is closed with a lid. If stored properly, the fruits will not develop bitterness, mold or other visual or taste changes. Before eating peanuts, they must be washed. This will rid the fruits of dust, dirt and small pests, which guarantees the absolute safety of the product for human health.

Shelf life of raw, salted, roasted nuts

Failure to comply with peanut storage technology leads to bitterness and mold in the nuts, so there is no doubt whether this product has an expiration date. Expired groundnuts become dangerous for consumption. To prevent this from happening, read the rules and approximate shelf life of peanuts in various forms:

The average shelf life of in-shell peanuts is 12 months.
Without shells, beans can be stored in a cool, dark place for 6-9 months.
Peanut kernels can be stored on a shelf in the refrigerator for 4-6 months.
The nut can be stored in the freezer for 9 months.
As for how long purchased salted roasted peanuts are stored, you need to focus only on the expiration date of the product indicated on the packaging. After opening the package, the nuts should be placed in a container with a lid and placed in the refrigerator or freezer.
When opened, peanuts can retain their flavor for several weeks.

Unshelled peanuts last longer than shelled ones.

Processing peanuts before eating

Few people grow crops at home. Usually a person buys peanuts by weight in a store or market, where the fruits are touched by a large number of people. Therefore, nuts are not only possible, but also must be washed before eating them, regardless of whether they were sold in shell or without it. This is done for 3 reasons:

Particles of dirt, dust, bacteria and even eggs of various parasitic organisms settle on the surface of the nut as a result of their exposure to the open air.
Increased shelf life, as well as protection from food moths and other pests.
Elimination of residues from chemical fertilizers that were used to treat fruits to improve the quality of the crop.

Important!

Any purchased nuts should be washed. This rule also applies to nuts that are sold already in packaging. The exception is peanuts that are salted or fried in oil.