How to properly dry hazelnuts at home

Hazelnuts contain a large amount of iron, vitamins B and E, and healthy fatty acids. It is eaten whole, used in the preparation of hot dishes and desserts, and used in folk medicine. However, it must be properly prepared before eating.

Hazelnuts are used in dried form. After removing excess moisture, it acquires a richer taste and aroma, becomes crispy, and loses its bitterness. The risk that the product will spoil during storage is reduced. How to dry hazelnuts in shell and without it at home in different ways, read on.

How to dry hazelnuts - in shell or shelled

Hazelnuts are dried both in shell and without it. Many people wonder which method is better.

Nuts are stored in shells longer, they are protected from harmful microorganisms and oxidation of beneficial substances. This way you won't have to waste time cleaning before drying. When you need dried nuts, you just need to peel the right amount.

Shelled nuts are easier to use. Having spent time cleaning all the hazelnuts once, you will not have to remove the shell each time during consumption. It is easier to remove spoiled specimens from cleaned kernels, of which there are usually quite a few.

Drying a shelled nut takes less time than in a shell. However, not all methods can be used for the latter option.

This is interesting! Hazelnuts and hazelnuts have the same taste and composition.They differ in appearance. The first is small and oval in shape, the second is larger and round. Hazel is a wild nut that grows in the forest, and hazelnut is a cultivated variety.

Collection and preparation of nuts

Before drying hazelnuts, they must be properly collected and prepared. Harvest occurs in September. Ripe nuts have a red-brown or light brown hue. Green specimens are tasteless and need to be allowed to ripen.

To collect hazelnuts, lay a light blanket or film under the bush. The plant is shaken so that the fruits fall to the litter.

The collected nuts are sorted, separated, and separated from the stalks. Instances with traces of mold, dark spots and holes in the shell are thrown away. These are signs of spoilage or insects inside.

If the hazelnuts are to be dried directly in the shell, they are simply washed in a large container of water. Then place it on a towel and blot off excess moisture.

Raw hazelnuts are deshelled. To do this, pour boiling water over it and leave it like that for an hour. After this, the shells are broken with a small hammer or nut cracker.

The kernels are removed and sorted, removing darkened, moldy ones, as well as specimens with an unpleasant odor and traces of insects.

To remove the thin shell from the kernels, pour boiling water over them and leave for 5 minutes. After this, the skin can be easily removed with your fingers or a napkin.

Reference. Some housewives remove the skin from already dried kernels. In this case, there is a risk that the thin shell will burn when cooking the nuts.

Methods for drying hazelnuts at home

There are several options.Some of them require special equipment, while others are carried out using improvised means or simply in the fresh air. Each option has its own advantages, disadvantages and technology.

In the oven

There is an oven in almost every home. And you don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort to roast a nut in it. Both electric and gas appliances are suitable.

It is easy to dry both peeled and unpeeled kernels in the oven. In both cases, the cooking technology will be different.

How to dry shelled hazelnuts:

1. The baking sheet is covered with parchment. The kernels are laid out on it in 1-2 layers.
2. Place in the oven, heat it to 60-100°C. If possible, turn on the convection mode, and if not, open the door slightly.
3. Periodically open the oven slightly and stir the nuts. Then they check for readiness.

The cooking time for nuts is 1-2 hours and depends on the temperature. The higher it is, the faster the nuts will dry, but the less vitamins will remain in them.

How to dry hazelnuts in their shells in the oven:

1. The product is placed on a baking sheet in 1-2 layers. In this case, parchment is not needed.
2. The baking sheet is placed in the oven, preheated to 120°C.
3. Periodically open the door and stir the nuts.

The drying time for nuts in shell varies between 4-6 hours. To tell if a hazelnut is dry, you need to crack one and check the kernel.

Note! Dried kernels have a golden hue on the outside and at the core. They give off a pleasant rich aroma. Cooled, well-dried hazelnuts are crunchier than raw ones.

There is a faster way to dry it in the oven. It looks the same for shelled and in-shell hazelnuts:

1. The product is laid out in 1-2 layers on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in the oven preheated to 180°C.
2. Every 5 min. Open the oven slightly, stir the nuts and check for doneness.
3. The cleaned kernels will be ready in 10 minutes. Cooking time for hazelnuts in shell is 20-30 minutes.

Another option for drying peeled nuts: preheat the oven to 180°C, place the kernels in it in one layer and immediately turn it off. Leave the nuts in the oven until completely cool.

In the microwave

Both peeled and in-shell kernels are dried in a microwave oven. This is one of the fastest methods, which takes no more than 10 minutes in total. The technology for drying shelled and unshelled hazelnuts differs.

How to dry hazelnuts without shells in the microwave:

1. The nuts are placed on a stove dish or a wide flat plate in one layer.
2. Set the power to 750 W and turn it on for 3 minutes.
3. After the beep, the nuts are turned over. The door is left open, allowing the kernels to cool completely.
4. After the kernels have cooled, the microwave is turned on again for 3 minutes at the same power.
5. After this, the kernels are checked. If they are not yet dry enough, they are allowed to cool. Then turn on the microwave for another 2 minutes.

If unshelled hazelnuts are dried in a microwave oven, use the following technology:

1. Place it on a dish in one layer.
2. The power is set to 750 W. The device is turned on for 10 minutes.
3. After the beep, the nuts are allowed to cool. One of them is split open and the kernel is checked for readiness. If it is damp, turn on the oven for another 5 minutes.

The main disadvantage of this method is that no more than 300 g of nuts can be placed in the microwave.

Frying in a pan

To dry the nuts, use a frying pan.This is the fastest way. It allows you to dry a large amount of product and takes on average from 3 to 10 minutes (depending on the number of nuts in the pan). It is with this method that the kernels of a beautiful golden hue are obtained.

Pan drying has disadvantages. In this case, the nuts are cooked at high temperatures, at which many vitamins are destroyed. Dried this way hazelnut will be less useful. In addition, it is during roasting that it is easiest to overcook the kernels, which will lead to their burning.

It is not necessary to specially break the shell before frying. During the cooking process, it will crack, which will allow you to quickly and easily remove the kernels.

How to fry nuts in shell:

1. Add nuts to a heated dry frying pan and fry over low heat for 3-4 minutes.
2. Then the intensity of the burner is increased to maximum and fried for another 5-7 minutes.
3. During the cooking process, the hazelnuts are constantly stirred. Otherwise, it will burn on one side and remain raw on the other.

The cracked shell and rich aroma indicate readiness. It is recommended to take out several cores and test them.

You need to be extremely careful with shelled nuts. They quickly fry and, if not removed from the heat in time, burn.

Dry the kernels at minimum temperature, stirring constantly. Readiness is indicated by an increased aroma and a characteristic crackling sound. If hazelnuts are dried in a thin shell, it dries out and falls off right in the pan.

Do not leave dried nuts in a hot frying pan - they will burn. After turning off the burner, they are immediately poured into a dry plate.

Important! Pans with a thick bottom are suitable for drying. In thin metal containers the product burns.

In the dryer

Not only vegetables and fruits are dried in special devices. The device is also used for preparing nuts. In a dryer, hazelnuts take longer to cook than in other electrical appliances, but they dry evenly and retains nutrients.

The correct way to cook nuts in the dryer:

1. The nuts are laid out in one layer on the grill of an electric dryer. If the device has several tiers, fill them all.
2. The temperature on the dryer is set to 90°C. The device is closed and left for 4 hours. There is no need to stir the kernels during the drying process; hot air blows on them from all sides.
3. After 4 hours, turn off the device and wait for the nuts to cool. If they are not ready yet, the dryer is turned on again.

Peeled hazelnuts are dried in an electric dryer for 4-6 hours. It takes up to a day to prepare nuts in shell.

Outdoors after harvest

Naturally dried hazelnuts are the healthiest. At outdoor temperatures they do not lose nutrients. In this case, the kernels will be white or cream without a golden hue. This will not affect the taste.

It is recommended to dry nuts in their shells this way. They can be cleaned when ready. It is possible to dry the cleaned kernels, but in this case there is a risk that insects will infest them.

How to dry nuts outdoors:

1. The prepared kernels are laid out on pallets or fabric bedding and covered with one layer of gauze. This will protect the hazelnuts from ants, flies and other pests.
2. The tray with the product is placed in the open sun in a well-ventilated place. The sunnier and windier the weather, the faster the process will go.
3. Turn the nuts several times a day so that they dry evenly.
4. At night, the pallets are brought into the house.This will protect them from morning dew and speed up the process.
5. During rainfall, wet weather and strong winds, hazelnuts are brought indoors. Otherwise, it will not dry out, but will begin to rot.

On average, drying hazelnuts outside takes a week. If the weather is not sunny and cloudy, it will last longer.

Advice. To dry a nut at home, place it near a radiator or in a room with a “warm floor” system.

Storage after drying

To ensure that dried hazelnuts remain tasty and healthy for a long time and are not harmful to health, you should familiarize yourself with all the rules and nuances of their storage:

1. Choose natural containers for storage. Typically, fabric bags or glass jars are used. Containers must close well. Plastic bags are not suitable, as condensation forms in them, which leads to spoilage of the nuts.
2. The storage place should be dry and dark.
3. Hazelnuts are kept separate from other nuts. Otherwise, their aromas will mix and the taste will deteriorate.
4. Nuts absorb odors well. They are not stored with foods and objects that have an intense aroma.
5. If the kernels have acquired an unpleasant odor or become moldy, do not eat them. Spoiled hazelnuts are toxic.
6. It is not recommended to store it for more than six months. The shelf life of peeled kernels fried in a frying pan or in the oven at high temperatures is reduced to 3 months.

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Conclusion

Drying hazelnuts allows you to get a more pleasant taste and aroma and get rid of bitterness. In addition, due to the evaporation of excess moisture, the nut is stored longer and is less susceptible to putrefactive microorganisms.

There are many drying methods.Some of them allow you to get the finished product in just a few minutes, while others take several days or even weeks. It is believed that the lower the temperature used when drying hazelnuts, the more useful elements remain in it and the longer it is stored.