Freeze Nuts to Keep Them Fresh

If you love to cook or bake, you probably buy nuts in bulk. This is the time of year where most of us are knee-deep in baking and I bet some of those recipes include nuts. Protect your investment by properly storing them. Whether it's pecans, walnuts, almonds, or nut flours, Freeze Nuts to Keep Them Fresh.

Ever open a bag of nuts and find they've gone rancid? It's not a pleasant taste or smell. You can tell just by the odor if nuts have started to turn. Because of their high oil content, nuts can go from delicious and crunchy, to rancid and gross in no time.

Nut flours should be kept in the refrigerator if you're using them frequently or the freezer if you're not. Because they are processed, nut flours can spoil quicker than whole nuts. They ain’t cheap!

How to freeze nuts...

How to freeze nuts to maintain freshness...

How to keep your nuts fresh…

Freeze your nuts and keep them fresh...

Protect your nuts by freezing them…

It was quite challenging to create a title for this post without giggling. All kidding aside, nuts are expensive and keeping them fresh is important. Have you seen the price of macadamia or pine nuts? Mama Mia! Freezing nuts is a great way to protect your investment and works whether the nuts are shelled or not.

To store properly, Use what you need, then:

Roll the top of the bag tightly to remove all the air then secure tightly with an elastic. This is how I store mine most of the time. Or, store the nuts in a freezer zip top bag, remove air, and seal.
Flattening the bag before sealing is better for stacking, saving space in the freezer.
Unless the nuts are wet, they should remain separate. But, why would your nuts be wet anyways?
Freezing nuts in bags rather than containers allow for easier storage. Also, you are able to remove all the air before sealing which is important.
There's no need to thaw nuts before using them unless you plan on eating them as is. Even then, there's no need if you don't mind cold nuts. They don't get super hard because nuts contain oil. I use them for snacking, as a topping for ice cream, or in parfaits. I find them pleasantly crunchy and if you don't like cold nuts, just bring them to room temperature. I’m dying here...

Unlike other perishables such as meats, the quality of nuts won't be affected from refreezing. Simply store as described above with no ill effects.

To recap:

Save money, buy nuts in bulk or when on sale.
Use what you need then store properly.
To store properly, keep nuts in original package, tightly roll top of bag, secure tightly with elastic, then place in zip top freezer bag. Or, you can store nuts in a zip top freezer bag, remove all the air and seal.
Label bag, date, and store until needed.
Nuts can be frozen for up two years.
There's no need to thaw prior to using. If eating as a topping or a snack, be careful as they may have more of a crunch, otherwise, use as is. The oils in the nuts prevent them from getting rock solid.

Want to put those nuts to great use?