Test Kitchen tips: Choosing and storing nuts

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Because of their high oil content, nuts can go bad quickly and easily. There’s nothing worse than biting into a nut gone bad -- rancid nuts tend to have a sharp, bitter flavor, and can ruin a recipe.

When buying nuts, shop at a store that has a rapid turnover -- odds are, the nuts are fresher than at a store where they have been sitting around for a while. Fresh nuts should feel heavy for their size and should be plump and firm and uniform in size; they should not be shriveled, wrinkled, or discolored. If purchasing nuts in the shell, look for whole, unbroken shells. Shake the shells -- if the nut is rattling around, it is probably old and dried out.

Store nuts in a cool, dry place for a couple of days. Nuts can be refrigerated for up to several weeks, and should be frozen if you’re going to keep them for any longer than that.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you’d like me to explore, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

ALSO:

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
twitter/noellecarter