How to dry and store walnuts at home: peeled and in shell

A rare gardener does not grow walnuts on his site. This means that having received an enviable harvest, 100% wants to harvest and preserve it completely, without losses.

Next, you will learn about when to harvest walnuts and how to store them properly.

When walnuts ripen: harvest time

The timing of the harvest of walnuts depends on two main factors:

• 1) varieties;
• 2) climatic conditions in the place of cultivation (warmer - earlier, cooler - later).

Typically, depending on the variety, walnuts ripen at the following times:

• early ripening - in August;
• mid-season (most of them) - September;
• late - in October.

The main signal that it is time to start harvesting is the moment when the green pericarp bursts and after a whilea nut falls to the ground.

It is worth considering another option: it often happens that ripening occurs unevenly on one tree. Accordingly, in this case, the fruits are collected selectively in several stages.

Important! Thus, there is a direct relationship between the timing of harvesting and the quality of nut kernels, so the harvest of walnuts must be picked on time. If you are late, substances from the green pericarp can penetrate into the nucleus and it will turn black. Moreover, on fruits that have fallen to the ground, mold may appear and they will disappear. And if you do this ahead of time, then the kernel, when dried, can significantly decrease in weight and volume, become very wrinkled (lose any presentation) and hard, its taste will deteriorate, and, naturally, it will be worse stored.

Video: when to harvest walnuts: harvest time

Now you know how to correctly determine that the nuts are ready to be harvested, all that remains is to pick them correctly, peel, wash, dry and store them.

How to properly collect and peel nuts

With fruits that themselves fall to the ground, there can be no problems in collecting - just take and collect them with your hands in a suitable container.

But if you have several trees, and the harvest is serious enough, then there is a special tool - roll for picking walnuts.

You can see how this tool works (and it can collect nuts both on flat and uneven surfaces) in the following videos.

Video: how to quickly collect fallen walnuts on any surface

The main difficulty usually arises with fruits that are clearly ripe, but still hanging from the tree. If you have a small tree, you can remove the nuts by hand, and the same goes for harvesting from the lower branches of large trees.

But removing nuts from the upper branches of tall trees is no longer such an easy task that can be solved in 2 ways:

• shake the tree itself or its individual branches with your hands, for example, this can be done by climbing a ladder.
• again, you can use special tools for removal on a long stick (pole), for example, with a hook at the end, or some other design.

By the way! Many people advise picking nuts in dry weather, but, as a rule, they crumble after rain, and in any case, before storing them, you will first have to wash them and then dry them properly.

How to peel green fruit (pericarp)

It is good when the nut fruit falls out of the pericarp while still on the tree. It's also good when it is released when it falls to the ground, or the skin is detached already on the ground. This happens in most cases.

But it often happens that the fruits have to be removed from the pericarp on their own, which is quite difficult (you have to work tediously and monotonously with a knife). This must be done, and as soon as possible if you want to get high-quality light nut kernels. This need is due to the fact that the green peel traps heat inside the nut, which means that the pericarp itself gradually begins to rot, and the shell and core darken, that is, the nut begins to lose its taste.

In general, those who grow walnuts for sale, that is, in large enough volumes, as a rule, use various kinds of special machines for quick cleaning, for example, as in the following video.

Video: an industrial way to peel a nut from a green peel

Important! If you manually peel nuts from green peels, be sure to wear rubber gloves, otherwise it will be very difficult to wash your hands.

After you peel the fruits of the amniotic peel, they should be washed in water, and then, if desired, whitened, for example, in a saline solution (5 kg of salt per 10 liters of water). After the whitening procedure, which lasts 1-2 minutes, the fruits should be thoroughly rinsed in clean water.

Video: how to properly collect and prepare (dry) nuts for storage

Note! The author of this video at the end says that drying nuts near the battery is fraught with the fact that they can bloom and mold, but according to numerous reviews and opinions (even in the comments to this video), this is not at all the case.

How to dry walnuts after harvest

In order for walnuts to be stored as long as possible and not to lose their useful properties, they must first be properly dried, and this can be done both at home (in an apartment) and on the street or under a canopy.

Drying freshly harvested nuts is optimal outdoors in warm sunny weather (but not higher than 30 degrees), or in the shade under a canopy, where good air permeability, however ventilated attic (even more so if the weather is changeable and unfavorable).

Nuts must be laid out in 1 layer (maximum - 2) on wire mesh or lattice boxes, on eithernewspapers and stir periodically so that the shell dries evenly.

The procedure time depends on the moisture content of the nut and on the intensity of the drying itself. Most often, a few days are enough (from 2 to 5).

Important! Do not lay walnuts on impermeable materials such as plastic wrap for drying. The water flowing from the nuts will stagnate, from which spots will form on the nutshell, and the kernel itself may deteriorate.

Video: how to dry walnuts

By the way! In-shell walnuts can also be dried at home, for example, in the oven, laying out on a baking sheet. Optimum temperature (preheat) - up to 50 degrees, time - 20-30 minutes (without forgetting to stir).

Even better for such purposes, a special electric dryer.

It is very convenient to dry nutsin the microwave (1.5 minutes at maximum), but it's better to do this anyway with already cleaned.

Advice! After you've dried the walnuts enough, be sure to chop a couple to check that they're done. If the kernels are still wet, it is worth continuing drying, because it is because of the excess moisture inside the fruit that the fruit deteriorates and grows moldy during storage.

How to store walnuts at home: peeled and in shell

By the way! Knowing how to properly store walnuts is not only important for you when you grow them yourself, but also when you buy them from the market.

Important! Nuts are very good at absorbing odors, so they should not be stored next to other "aromatic" products, let alone peeled.

Storing cleaned kernels

Depending on the volume (and in this form, they are usually stored in a fairly small amount) and your possibilities, there are different ways of storing peeled nuts.

Conveniently store shelled walnuts pre-packed in plastic zip bags or jars with lids, in the refrigerator... The shelf life is from 2 to 12 months.

But before storing peeled kernels, they must also be dried, or rather calcined in a frying pan (stirring occasionally) or on a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes at a temperature of no more than 50 degrees.

You can store walnuts without shells in canvas bags, glass jarsby putting them in a dark and cool place (pantry)... The shelf life is from 2 to 4 months.

You can store peeled kernels frozen in the freezer, and it is most convenient to use special vacuum bags for freezing. The shelf life is from 1 to 3 years.

Advice! When storing peeled walnuts, do not forget to periodically examine and stir them in order to quickly remove spoiled kernels.

Video: how to properly store peeled walnuts

By the way! It is not necessary to keep walnuts fresh, you can make various twists with them for the winter (jam).

In-shell storage

It is very convenient to store inshell walnuts in wooden or plastic boxes, canvas bags or in nets, which must be dry, clean and free of foreign odors. In such a container, the nut will feel great and "breathe", which means that it will not rot or mold. The drawers or nets themselves can be placed on the shelves.

As for optimal conditions, inshell walnuts should be stored in a dry ventilated room with a stable temperature of + 5-10 degrees (although some old sources recommend a temperature of 0- + 5 degrees and an air humidity of 60%). In such conditions, they can be stored without losing their taste for several years (up to 3 years).

Note! In no case should walnuts be stored in damp rooms, for example, in a basement or cellar. High air humidity contributes to the formation of mold on the shell, which means that it rot.

Video: how to store peeled walnuts and in shells

In order to harvest an incredibly healthy walnut without any problems and 100%, it is necessary to carefully approach the definition of its maturity and the correct harvest time. Also, special attention should be paid to cleaning techniques and compliance with storage rules.

Important! If you did not follow the storage conditions or for some other reason the kernel inside the walnut ceased to be white, began to darken (became dark) - it is no longer suitable for consumption. You can get severe poisoning of the body.