Freezing Nuts and Seeds

Freezing nuts and seeds keeps them fresher longer and prevents them from going rancid. Great for bakers, chefs and anyone who buys in bulk.

Walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, chestnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and buckwheat, wheat berries are just a short list of freezable nuts and seeds.

I like to freeze squash and pumpkin seeds during the fall season as well. Freeze before or after roasting.

How to Freeze Nuts and Seeds
Freeze nuts by putting them in a plastic freezer bag, labeling it or keeping the original bag the nuts came in for the label and adding it to your freezer inventory sheet.

I don’t bother to flash freeze nuts because I’ve never had a problem with them freezing into a large lump and it’s highly unlikely unless they were to get wet for some reason.

For long storage consider double bagging the nuts so they don’t share their smells, or worse, pick up other smells in the freezer.

Shelled or Unshelled?
You can freeze nuts either way. Unshelled nuts are faster for cooking, baking, garnishing dishes or eating as a snack. Leaving them shelled doesn’t increase shelf life in the freezer.

Make sure the shell is cracked so the nutmeat has room to expand.

Chopped, Unchopped Or Ground?
Freeze them however you’re most likely to use them.

Salted or Unsalted?
Either one will freeze fine. I prefer to buy unsalted nuts because they give more flexibility for cooking and baking.

Thaw or Reheat Nuts
You don’t have to thaw nuts but if you’re eating them as is, such as on top of ice cream or in a trail mix you might want to.

For cooking or baking use nuts from frozen.

A quick way to reheat nuts is to roast them slightly in a pan or in the oven.

How Long Can You Freeze Nuts?
Most sources say six months, but many people keep nuts at room temperature that long.

I don’t recommend buying or keeping more of anything, including nuts, than you can use in one year. Why waste the space? If you want to buy a huge portion see if a friend or family member wants to split it with you.

Some people report freezing nuts and seeds up to two years.

Will previously frozen raw nuts and seeds still sprout later?
Yes, they will and that means they are still considered raw for people eating only a raw diet.

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