The Best Way to Store Nuts and Seeds

On the candida diet, we like our food FRESH! Fresher food means more nutrients, and lower levels of toxicity, bacteria, and fungi. Now nuts and seeds are one of the staples on the candida diet, so how can we best store them to keep them as fresh as possible? Read on to find out!

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🥡 Storing Nuts and Seeds
❓ How Long do Nuts and Seeds Last?
❓ How Do I Know if My Nuts Have Turned Rancid?
✨ Summary
🍽 Recipe Ideas

🥡 Storing Nuts and Seeds

Most of us are used to storing our nuts and seeds in the kitchen cupboard or the pantry. After all, they come in a sealed bag with a clearly marked use by date, right? But the thing to remember is, nuts like to be cool! The cooler your nut, the longer it will last.

Did you know that you can freeze your nuts? In fact, this is the optimum storage place for them. This is because the warmer they are, the quicker the oils that they contain will turn rancid.

Now I have a tiny fridge and freezer. There is no way I can store all of my unopened nut and seed packets in either, particularly because I enjoy them in such large quantities! So my compromise? I try and buy my nuts and seeds as and when I need them. I will store the sealed bags in the pantry for as little as possible, and then once the bags are opened, pop them in the fridge following which I use them up relatively quickly.

❓ How Long do Nuts and Seeds Last?

Note that nuts and seeds are good for as long as 6 months when refrigerated. And you can double or even quadruple that number in the freezer.

As for nuts and seeds that are freshly roasted, they will need to be stored in an airtight container and used within two weeks at room temperature, although preferably cooler.

❓ How Do I Know if My Nuts Have Turned Rancid?

This one’s pretty easy. If you usually like nuts, but the nuts smell or taste… off. Then sadly they have turned or are turning rancid. Even if you’ve only just opened the packet. I find this happens to me a lot with walnuts. Even ones I have just purchased from the shop. It sometimes feels like a game of Russian roulette before I eat a walnut, and I end up so disappointed when they’re off because they’re quite pricey too! I actually looked into the reason behind this and discovered that it’s not just my bad luck. Walnuts do indeed go rancid quicker because they have a higher level of fatty acids which makes them more susceptible to oxidation.

I know what you’re thinking. What does a rancid walnut taste like? In my opinion, play-doh! Now I promise I’m not going around eating play-doh or anything. No, I haven’t done that for a good couple of decades now. But I find they do smell and therefore taste EXACTLY like the homemade play-doh my mum used to make when I was a kid. It’s like a potent bitter, salty flavour. Very unappetising to say the least.

✨ Summary

So to conclude, my top tips for storing your nuts and seeds are:

Buy your nuts and seeds in time for when they are required
Store nuts and seeds - particularly open packs - in the refrigerator or freezer
Nuts and seeds kept in the freezer will last 12-24 months
Nuts and seeds kept in the refrigerator will last up to 6 months
If storing at room temperature, keep nuts and seeds away from any source of heat such as the oven, hob or sunlight
You will know your nuts are rancid by the smell and taste. So taste your nuts before using large quantities in any recipes.