How to peel pine nuts: quick ways to get rid of the shell at home

Pine nuts are a very valuable and he althy product that contains many useful vitamins and minerals. Due to this, it can be used to eliminate various pathologies and strengthen the immune system. At the same time, not every person knows how to peel pine nuts. For this purpose, it is permissible to use a variety of devices - scissors, pliers, millstones.

Cleaning nuances

Pine nuts need to be peeled before use. They are distinguished by a hard shell that cannot be eaten. Most often, people prefer to gnaw this product with their teeth.However, doctors do not advise resorting to this method, since there is a high probability of damage to tooth enamel.

It is also permissible to use improvised devices for cracking nuts. To cleanse, you can do the following:

1. Freeze the nuts and place them in a plastic bag. Let the air out of it and tie it up. Put the product on a hard surface and press it with a rolling pin. At the same time, this should not be done too strongly, so as not to damage the nuclei. In conclusion, it is enough to separate the kernels from the husk.
2. Large nuts with a hard shell can be easily cracked with a hammer. To do this, you need to take a wrench of a suitable diameter, place a nut in it and knock with a wooden or metal hammer.
3. To facilitate the cleansing process, pre-frying the nuts in a dry frying pan will help. They can also be baked in the oven. Then the nuts need to be placed in ice water. As a result of such influences, the nutshell will crack.

Any handling of nuts must be done carefully so as not to damage the kernel. Therefore, when choosing a purification method, it is worth considering a number of nuances.

Popular ways

Today there are many ways to peel pine nuts, each of which has its own characteristics.

Tooth cleaning

To quickly peel nuts, you can use your own teeth. To do this, you need to bite the nut into two parts, turning it towards you with the wide side. Then discard the empty part of the shell. The half with the wide end and the core will remain sandwiched between the teeth. It needs to be turned towards you and pulled out with your teeth.

This method of peeling nuts is similar to cracking seeds. You can use it only if you have very strong enamel. The fact is that pine nuts are characterized by a rather strong shell, which negatively affects the teeth.This method is especially harmful for those who need to peel a lot of nuts.

Immersion in cold water

To peel nuts at home, they should be immersed in water for at least 8 hours. Thanks to this, their shell will become much softer. It should be noted that this manipulation does not impair the taste of the product. Therefore, you can leave the nuts in the water all night. In the morning, the liquid must be drained and dried on a paper towel. Then the nuts can be easily brushed with your teeth.

How to clean with boiling water

To use this method at home, you need to do the following:

• place the pine nuts in a suitable container;
• fill them with boiling water;
• leave for 5 minutes;
• move the product to a hard surface - it is best to use a cutting board for this purpose;
• roll the rolling pin over the nuts with little force.

With the correct procedure, you can hear a characteristic crack. After that, it remains only to open the shell and pull out the kernels.

Using a garlic press

To peel nuts from the shell, you can use a regular garlic press. To do this, just put the nut in the garlic compartment and gently press the handle of the device. Press gently until you hear a click. If you apply too much effort, there is a risk of spoiling the core.

Pliers - another way

To peel pine nuts yourself, it is permissible to use pliers. Using this tool is quite convenient. It has corrugated surfaces that prevent the nuts from slipping. With the help of pliers, it is possible to easily crack the shell. To do this, the nut must be placed between the jaws and a little pressure on the tool.

If there is a small hole in the fixture that is designed to capture round objects, it is best to place the nut there. Then you can squeeze the handles. This will help to crack the shell easily without damaging the core.

Millstones: manual and mechanized

In regions where a lot of pine nuts are found, people use special millstones. They are intended for making flour from cereals, but can also be used to peel nuts.

The device consists of 2 round blocks, which are made from a thick tree trunk. Nuts are placed on one fixed block, and a second is placed on top. This element is spinning. Clearances are adjusted using washers.

The destruction of the nutshell is achieved by rubbing the surfaces of the blocks. At the same time, the cores retain their integrity due to the gap between the millstones. Its height matches their size. The device allows you to get 10-15 kilograms of kernels per day.

Mechanical millstones can be used for faster peeling of nuts. In this case, 500 grams of purified kernels can be obtained in 2 minutes. Specific indicators depend on the size of the millstones, the volume of the bowl, the power parameters of the device and other characteristics.

Mechanical millstones are made of high strength stainless steel. On their surface there are notches that create friction. Due to this, it is possible to achieve the destruction of the shell.

With a toothpick

Pine nuts can be peeled with scissors and a toothpick. To do this, you need to take scissors in one hand, and a nut in the second. Then it needs to be placed between the blades and turned to itself with a wide side. Then you need to carefully press the scissors on the shell to split it into 2 halves. The next step is to extract the kernel. If you can't do it with your fingers, you should use a toothpick.

It is recommended to use scissors very carefully to avoid destroying the delicate core. This method is considered quite productive. In just 10 minutes, it allows you to get a large handful of delicious grains.

Special cleaning machine

To make peeling pine nuts faster and more efficient, you should purchase a special machine for this. This device is called a nutcracker. In appearance and features of work, the device is similar to a manual meat grinder.

It is important to consider that the product also has some disadvantages. So, it does not help clean all the downloaded grains at once. Therefore, they will have to be sifted through a large sieve. Thanks to this, it will be possible to separate the cleaned nucleoli from the uncleaned ones. The second should be loaded into the machine again and re-cleaned.

Animal Nail Scissors

At the pet store you can buy special scissors that are designed to trim the claws of animals. Such products allow you to split the shell into 2 halves without damaging the core. It needs to be separated manually.

Peeling pine nuts is considered to be quite a complex and painstaking process. To make it successful, you can use a variety of methods. At the same time, it is important to perform all manipulations very carefully so as not to damage the delicate nucleoli.

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