Several ways to dry nuts at home
Nuts are a source of useful polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and trace elements. In order to preserve this wealth, nuts must be stored properly. Learn how to dry nuts at home in this article.
What is needed for drying
There are several types of proper drying of nuts, it is worth choosing the most suitable for your conditions. Depending on the method, choose the appropriate inventory:
- a device for cracking nuts (if there is no special nutcracker, stock up on a bottle of champagne and a hammer);
- baking sheet;
- pan;
- glossy paper;
- kitchen spatula;
- drying harvester (if available);
- microwave;
- if the nuts will dry naturally, a clean cloth and gauze will be needed.
All devices are simple and can be found in the kitchen of every housewife.
After the nuts are harvested, it is necessary to peel them off. Then they are laid out in a thin layer and allowed to lie down for a while.
Drying in shells can be done, but this method requires a lot of storage space. It is more convenient to dry the kernels. To do this, we chop the nuts with a special device. If not, place the nut, seam side up, on the neck of the champagne bottle and tap lightly. This method allows you to crack nuts quickly, leaving the kernels intact. The raw materials are ready, we proceed to drying.
If there is a drying harvester, we put the kernels in the compartments for raw materials, set the temperature to no more than 90 ° C, dry for about 5 hours.
In natural conditions, those who live in a private house can afford drying. This will require a clean cloth and a well-ventilated, sunny location. Nuts are laid out in one layer on a cloth and placed in the sun. Turn your crop several times throughout the day. Thus, it will take about a week to lay out and turn the nuts.
Before drying nuts in the oven, it is necessary to preheat it to 150 ° C. Spread glazed paper on a baking sheet and arrange the nuts in one layer. Dry for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
A specific crackling will also inform you of readiness.
In a 1000 W microwave oven, it will take about 4 minutes to dry. This is a good option if there are few nuts. They are laid out in 1-2 layers on a dish and placed in the oven.
A small amount of nuts can be fried in a pan without the addition of vegetable oil. You will need about 5 minutes for this. Stir the nuts during frying.
Choose the method that works best for you and dry the kernels or whole nuts. They will be a great addition to any dessert.
In the next article: how to dry vegetables