Pine nuts are a very valuable and healthy product that contains many useful vitamins and microelements. Thanks to this, it can be used to eliminate various pathologies and strengthen the immune system. However, 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 must be peeled before use. They have a hard shell that cannot be eaten. Most often, people prefer to chew 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 tools for cracking nuts. To cleanse you can do the following:
- Freeze the nuts and place them in a plastic bag. Let the air out of it and tie it off. Place the product on a hard surface and press it with a rolling pin. At the same time, you cannot do this too much, so as not to damage the kernels. Finally, it is enough to separate the kernels from the husks.
- 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.
- Pre-roasting the nuts in a dry frying pan will help make the cleansing process easier. They can also be baked in the oven. Then the nuts need to be placed in ice water. As a result of such impacts, the nut shell will crack.
Any manipulations with nuts must be done carefully so as not to damage the kernel. Therefore, when choosing a cleansing method, it is worth considering a number of nuances.
Popular methods
Today there are many ways to clean pine nuts, each of which has its own characteristics.
Brushing with teeth
You can use your own teeth to quickly peel the nuts. To do this, you need to bite the nut into two parts, turning it towards you with the wide side. Then throw away the empty part of the shell. The half with the wide end and the core will remain sandwiched between the teeth. You need to turn it towards you and pull it out with your teeth.
Immersion in cold water
To clean nuts at home, they should be immersed in water for at least 8 hours. This will make their shells much softer. It is worth noting 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, you need to drain the liquid and dry them on a paper towel. Then you can easily peel the nuts 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;
- pour boiling water over them;
- leave for 5 minutes;
- move the product onto a hard surface - it is best to use a cutting board for this purpose;
- Roll the rolling pin over the nuts using a little force.
If the procedure is carried out correctly, you can hear a characteristic cracking sound. After which all that remains is 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 carefully until a click is heard. If you apply too much force, you risk ruining the core.
Pliers are another way
To peel pine nuts yourself, you can use pliers. This tool is quite convenient to use. It has grooved surfaces that prevent the nuts from slipping.Using pliers you can easily crack the shell. To do this, you need to place the nut between the jaws and apply a little pressure on the tool.
If the tool has a small hole that is designed to grip round objects, it is best to place the nut there. Then you can squeeze the handles. This will help you crack the shell easily without damaging the kernel.
Millstone: manual and mechanized
In regions where pine nuts are abundant, people use special millstones. They are intended for making flour from cereals, but can also be used to clean nuts.
The device consists of 2 round blocks, which are made from a thick tree trunk. Nuts are placed on one stationary block, and a second one is placed on top. This element rotates. The gaps are adjusted using washers.
The destruction of the nut shell is achieved through friction of the surfaces of the blocks. At the same time, the kernels maintain their integrity due to the gap between the millstones. Its height matches their size. The device allows you to obtain 10-15 kilograms of kernels per day.
To clean nuts faster, you can use mechanical millstones. In this case, in 2 minutes it is possible to obtain 500 grams of purified kernels. 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. There are notches on their surface that create friction. Due to this, it is possible to achieve destruction of the shell.
Using a toothpick
You can peel pine nuts using scissors and a toothpick. To do this, you need to take scissors in one hand and a nut in the other.Then you need to place it between the blades and turn the wide side towards you. Then you need to carefully press the scissors on the shell to split it into 2 halves. The next step is to remove the core. If you can’t do this with your fingers, you should use a toothpick.
It is recommended to use scissors extremely carefully to avoid destroying the delicate kernel. 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 effective, you should purchase a special machine for this. This device is called a nutcracker. In appearance and operating features, 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 loaded grains at once. Therefore, they will have to be sifted through a large sieve. Thanks to this, it will be possible to separate the purified nucleoli from the uncleaned ones. The latter should be loaded into the machine again and cleaned again.
Animal nail trimming scissors
At the pet store you can purchase special scissors that are designed for trimming animal claws. Such products allow you to split the shell into 2 halves without damaging the kernel. It needs to be separated manually.
Peeling pine nuts is considered a rather complex and painstaking process. To make it successful, you can use a variety of methods. It is important to perform all manipulations very carefully so as not to damage the delicate nucleoli.
