Contents
How to pick good nuts
You should definitely not buy dried, moldy nuts that have dark spots or a strong rancid odor. They form very harmful substances that produce molds – aflatoxins. Aflatoxins can cause severe allergies and damage liver cells.
Buying nuts without shell, pay attention to the color of the kernels. Old nut kernels turn yellow, some of them may acquire an unnatural bright yellow tint.
Nuts in shell, if they began to grow moldy, when splitting, they form a cloud of pollen – it is also better not to eat such. You can also take a few nuts in the shell and shake them – old, expired, dried nuts will rattle harder than fresh, recently harvested ones.
Which nuts are better, peeled or not?
Of course, nuts without shells are more convenient, but they are stored longer in the shell. In addition, the nuts peeled from the shell with their own hands are always cleaner: sellers cannot guarantee that the nuts did not crumble, did not fall on the ground, and so on. The most dangerous thing is to buy peeled nuts in open markets: all dust and dirt settle on them, and if the trade is carried out near the road, their kernels also absorb harmful substances from the exhaust gases.
Buying nuts in the package, pay attention to the expiration date. They are usually stored in opaque packaging for a year, in transparent ones – no more than six months, if the shelf life is much longer, it is better to put off such nuts and buy others.
How to choose walnuts
Their kernels should not be shriveled, have spots, dark or yellow tint. The shell of fresh walnuts is very hard, it cannot be cracked with your fingers, only old and spoiled ones are easily cracked. The color of the kernels is from buffy yellow to brown.
How to choose hazelnuts (hazelnuts)
Good peeled hazelnuts are smooth, free of bloom. But it is better to buy the one that is in the shell: peeled hazelnuts absorb harmful substances faster than other nuts. Hazelnut shells should also be free of whitish bloom and dark spots: these are the first signs that hazelnuts have begun to deteriorate, and they mold very quickly. Dried hazelnuts can be identified by their weight and sound: they are much lighter than fresh and rattle.
How to choose pine nuts
In old and peeled kernels of pine nuts that have begun to deteriorate, dark dots appear at the ends. But on the shell of each of them, on the contrary, there should be a small dark speck – this is evidence that there is a full-fledged grain inside. And this is important: in dry years, many shells are empty, or the nucleoli do not grow to the required size.