Amongst the top ingredients, nuts are undoubtedly one of the front runners. They've become so all-pervasive the very thought of making do without them in our cooking is unimaginable. However for the best outcomes in your cooking there are certain things you ought to consider to get the best from nuts.
Some foods wil soak up aromas more easily than others. High fat levels in food mean more aroma absorption. Nuts are no exception to this and take up aromas from nearby food easily. Nuts left in the refrigerator with uncovered meat will be penetrated by the odor of that meat. Don't leave nuts exposed near other food if you wish to avoid this issue. Cover them either with thick plastic wrapping or seal them in a glass or thick plastic container. Aromas can travel though a thin layer of plastic so you wil need something robust if you tend not to use glass.
When buying nuts you may wonder whether you want to get them with or without their shells. A nut is naturally preserved by it's shell, and they'll be preserved longer with them on. Consider how you want to use them - buying in volume to use over a long period pretty much requires buying with their shells on. It's a bit of a job to have to shell the nuts each time you need to use them, but they will remain fresh and you won't have paid the premium for them to be pre-shelled.
An excellent cook will always do the right things before using nuts. Prior to putting them in the recipe, tasting the nuts is important. Unlike many other types of food, it's not necessarily clear by any external indications that nuts are decaying. It's clear if you've bitten into a rotten nut though, you won't want to eat it! Your guests will want to spit out your final meal if you put a rancid nut in it without tasting it, as the flavour will carry over. Ensure you sample the nuts before adding them to avoid culinary catastrophe.
Pick a retailer that turns their stock over frequently when you buy your nuts. Nuts lose their freshness so the longer they've been hanging around at the store the less time you'll have to store them.
Sluggish turnover stores are things like a small family owned shop that has a tendency to sell their products in a trickle. They could be several months old or even older, stuck on the shelves or in a stock room. Their storage life could be over by the time you get the chance to buy them.
On the other hand you could purchase these nuts from a company that sells a huge amount of nuts every day then the time between harvest and sale is a lot shorter.
Author Resource:-
David Pruitt is a kitchen style and equipment expert with a background in industrial design and living engineering. He gives his thoughts regularly at Delonghi Microwave and American Fridge Freezers.
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