Nuts are one of my favorite snacks and always enjoy eating them a lot. Not just the delicious tastes of them, they also contain many nutrients, such as protein, healthy fats, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. However, if nuts turn bad, it produces unpleasant taste, rancid taste.
I have bought a pack of walnuts from a very popular store not long ago. Came home with a lot of expectation to cook and enjoy my nuts. It turns out those walnuts were rancid. I could not even have mouth full nuts to enjoy with a cup of my favorite drink and tv show. Sigh!
Nuts contain the unsaturated oil, which oxidize fast when they expose to light, heat and air. Moreover, the oxidized nuts taste rancid, very unpleasant taste. According to the Washington post, nuts that can more easily turn rancid are listed “in order of fastest to slowest: English walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, peanuts, almonds and pistachios, and cashews and hazelnuts.”
Often when you eat rancid nuts, the first thing you have immediately noticed is probably the unpleasant taste. However, some might have suffered side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Seek for medical attention if your symptoms get worse.
To avoid buying the rancid nuts, you might like to take some extra steps in choosing a good package. first, ask for samples if possible. Then smell the nuts to make sure they do not have an unpleasant fishy odor or paint like odor. you can also use visual inspection as well. Usually if the nuts turned rancid, they have darkened in color and/or become shriveled or oily, dry or moldy in appearance.
Properly store the nuts can help to last longer. Store them away from the light, heat and air, and in a sealed container. Processed nuts such as roasted, chopped or ground, are much quickly to go rancid than the whole and raw nuts. Store them in cool dry place, for example, a refrigerator is the best place. Unshelled nuts are the best in keeping fresh, they could last for a year or even two.
Alright! Enjoy your nuts and their nutrients they provide. Go nuts!
References:
- The Washington Post: Cracking the Code https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/2007/01/10/cracking-the-code/6592d9b5-7ac0-40ef-8bc7-9161a966836f/
- Healthfully: What Happens If You Eat Nuts That Have Gone Bad? https://healthfully.com/what-happens-if-you-eat-nuts-that-have-gone-bad-12630129.html
- Leaf: How to Tell if Nuts are Rancid https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-tell-if-nuts-are-rancid/
