How can walnuts be dried with a dryer and oven?
Content:
The purchase of ready-made nuts can turn out to be a failure, after which a tasty and healthy product will no longer want to be consumed. To prevent this from happening, there is nothing left to do but dry the walnuts yourself. This is not as difficult as it seems, but the result of correctly carried out manipulations will be to obtain an ingredient of the desired quality.
The easiest way is for owners of summer cottages, on which unpretentious trees are planted, they can dry nuts directly in the shell. If the products have to be purchased, then it is better to harvest them in a purified form, this will reduce the risk of a large number of defects.
How and when to collect walnuts so that they are suitable for drying?
Even home-grown fruits can disappoint if you don't follow harvest rules:
- First of all, you need to collect the fruits that showered from the branches yourself. Do not delay this, prolonged exposure to moist soil leads to the appearance of dampness inside the core and mold.
- After the first harvest, you can slightly shake the branches. Only matured nuts will crumble from such an impact.
- Walnuts are considered ripe if they are burst on the green shell on the shell. The whole shell indicates that the product is still green, even if it is lying on the ground.
- First of all, the fruits that cover the lower branches of the tree ripen. If nuts from the top have already begun to crumble, then all nuts from the lower branches can be collected manually.
Before drying walnuts, they need to be cleaned. This is a dirty, tedious and complicated business, but necessary. Manipulation must be performed with gloves. Then immediately proceed to one of the drying methods.
How to dry walnuts in the fresh air?
This is the best option for a plentiful crop, which can take the form of one of the following approaches:
- In the open air. A tarp or other waterproof fabric is spread on the ground. Pour the blanks from above and distribute them in an even layer. It takes several days to dry the fruits. After sunset, the structure must be cleaned into the room, otherwise the dew will ruin the workpiece.
- In room. It should be warm, dry, with good ventilation. With this approach, the products are first cleaned, washed in cold water, dried and sorted by size. Then the fruits are laid out on stands, it is better if they are grates.
In extreme cases, the products can simply be laid out in one of the rooms of the apartment on the newspaper. But they will have to be regularly turned over to guarantee uniform study.
Features of drying nuts with a dryer and oven
With a special dryer, the process of harvesting walnuts at home is greatly simplified. It is only necessary to strictly follow the instructions on the device and control the degree of readiness of products.
Tip: The procedure will not take more than 5-6 hours, however, with a large amount of nuts you will have to do several approaches, and ultimately the temporary savings will be minimized. Therefore, the dryer is best used on small volumes of the product.
More impressive batches of walnuts are easier and faster to dry in the oven. Manipulation consists of the following steps:
- We clean the blanks, remove the peel, rinse and dry with a towel. Then we sort the products, they need to be processed strictly in size.
- We lay out products from one batch on a baking sheet and place in the oven, preheated to 40-45ºС. At this temperature, the treatment is carried out for 2-3 hours. The cabinet door is always kept ajar so that moisture does not circulate in the enclosed space, but exits.
- About half an hour before the end of the period we raise the temperature to 70ºС. Initially, setting the oven to high heat is highly discouraged. Although the processing time will be reduced, the kernels will acquire an oily texture and an unpleasant aftertaste.
- We check the nut for the degree of readiness, removing it from the shell. The edible part should easily break apart, but not crumble.
After processing, leave the nuts in the fresh air for a couple of hours, so that the product "reached". Then packaged in cloth bags and sent for storage. The shelf life of such a blank is up to a year. Fruits can be stored for much longer, but their taste will gradually deteriorate.
How are peeled walnut kernels dried?
We chop the purchased nuts, extracting the kernels, clean all films and dirt, but do not rinse. Whenever possible, we try not to break the products; in general, they will last longer. Then the product is dried either on trays for 2-3 days, or in the oven at low temperature until the desired degree of readiness.
If during processing the ingredients begin to emit an unpleasant odor or acquire a rancid taste, then it is better to throw them away. Such signs indicate a violation of the storage conditions of the product, it is simply dangerous to use it.
The peeled products can be stored in canvas bags or sealed cans for no more than 3-4 months. The place should be dry and cool. If you need to extend the shelf life, we transfer the kernels to plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator.
Regardless of the type of processing and storage method, at least once a month, nuts must be removed, sorted and dried (possible on battery). This will prevent the appearance of mold and for a long time to maintain a pleasant taste of the product.
Check out the article on how to peel a pumpkin