Are nuts washed only by clean people or is it really necessary?

Washing fruits and vegetables is a common procedure, the necessity of which is beyond doubt. But few people think about whether they need to wash purchased nuts before eating. But before they fall into your hands, they have come a long way and need careful cleaning.

Do I need to wash nuts before eating?

Nuts grown on a tree fall to the ground, then go through the process of being collected, transported and stored in a warehouse. Once on the shelves, they are often sold in the open air. Suppliers rarely care about the purity of the product. Add to this the unfavorable environmental conditions and unwashed hands of workers, and the question of the need to wash nuts will disappear by itself.

How to wash nuts in shell?

Whole nuts in the shell - for example, walnuts - need to be treated with boiling water to get rid of germs:

place the unshelled nuts in a bowl or basin;
pour boiling water so that the water covers the entire contents;
leave for about half an hour, then carefully remove the nuts using a slotted spoon and rinse under warm running water.

This treatment will allow you to easily open the shell, which will become softer under the influence of hot water.

Avoid one of the common mistakes: do not drain the water until you have removed the nuts from it, otherwise all the dirt that has settled to the bottom will end up on the surface of the shell again.

As for other types of nuts, the rules are as follows:

Peanuts grow in the ground, so they must be scalded with boiling water before eating.
Hazelnuts can also be poured with boiling water, and after 5 minutes carefully removed from the water.
Coconuts should be rinsed under running water and fibers removed near the puncture site before cutting. In this case, dirt and germs will not get inside, so how to peel a coconut - the task is not easy and you will have to tinker with it.
The macadamia nut is known for its extremely hard shell. This type is sold with a cut, so before cleaning it should be doused with boiling water to get rid of dirt and bacteria.
Pine nuts can be washed under running water and then roasted in the oven.

How to wash shelled nuts?

Small peeled nuts (cashews, walnuts, peanuts and others), which you buy in bulk at the market or supermarket, must be washed. This applies not only to products sold outdoors, but also to sealed snacks. Their contents are not washed in production, and if this happens (from large responsible suppliers), this will most likely be written on the packaging, and the price of such a product will be much higher.

Some nuts are treated with chemicals, so washing them before eating will help protect your health and eliminate any unnatural taste.

It is better to rinse the peeled nuts with a stream of warm running water. The same applies to dried fruits.

How to dry nuts?

After washing, the kernels must be dried as soon as possible so that dampness does not spoil their taste. To do this, you can use any means you have at home:

oven,
microwave,
frying pan (it is more difficult to achieve uniform drying).

Some people use a regular hairdryer for this purpose: the nuts in a colander are “blown” with a stream of warm air.

To dry in the oven, spread the nuts in one layer and leave them for 8-10 minutes at a temperature of 150 degrees.

Do I need to wash nuts before roasting?

Many people like to enjoy roasted nuts. Heat treatment makes them crispier and tastier. But during the frying process, nuts lose not only moisture, but also some useful substances, so you should adhere to the rule: the lower the processing temperature, the healthier the product.

Peanuts, cashews, almonds and pine nuts can be roasted to protect yourself from harmful microorganisms. It is best to use an oven rather than a frying pan for this.

Do not set the temperature control above 150 degrees: at higher levels, nut oil reaches its smoke point and becomes harmful.

Heat treatment kills pathogenic bacteria, but after purchasing nuts at a point located in the open air, for your own peace of mind, it is better to first rinse them with running water.

If you haven't even thought about washing nuts, try doing it for the first time, and very soon proper processing will become a habit. This will help you avoid unpleasant diseases and maintain the health of your loved ones.