How Long Do Pine Nuts Last? Do Pine Nuts Go Bad?

Pine nuts are pretty commonly used on daily bases.

Cookies, snacks, pesto sauce and many other food items are present that taste better with pine nuts.

Even after being ordinary in our lives, people have many questions about them.

Like, are pine nuts actually nuts? Can we store them? Or do pine nuts go bad? So it is essential to make sure you select good pine nuts.

Because if you eat a bad pine nut, then this can lead to nausea and vomiting, and its aftertaste is unbearable.

These nuts can help in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

One must add a minimum of three servings of these nuts to their diet regularly.

Magnesium, iron, zinc, and antioxidants are abundant in these nuts.

What are Pine Nuts?

Pine nuts are also named pignolia or pignoli nuts.

However, the name includes the word nuts; they are not actually nuts.

Pine nuts are the seeds of pine trees and are extracted from pine cones.

This extraction process is done by shelling labourers.

Pine nuts have two shell coverings that need to be removed before having them.

The process itself is time taking and therefore contains a lot of expenses.

Pine nuts take a long period of time to ripen, about one and a half years.

But this period can be extended if the climate conditions are unfavourable.

For example, in bad climatic conditions, the ripening period becomes double.

Europe is both a more significant producer and consumer of these nuts as they use pine nuts in making their traditional pesto.

But, except for Europe, you might also find pine nut production in China, Mongolia, Russia and Korea.

How Long Do Pine Nuts Last? Do Pine Nuts Go Bad?

Now, if we talk about the general life span of pine nuts, then they last for about 3 to 6 months at room temperature.

One can store them in a refrigerator to make them last for 12 months.

The temperature should be nearby 30 degrees Celsius to preserve the quality of the pine nut.

There is a choice that you can store shelled pine nuts or without shelled nuts.

With single-shelled nuts, you can expect to keep your nuts save more than a year.

It would be best if you bought these pine nuts from a place that sells fresh nuts to minimize the risk of early spoiling.

Pine nuts do not come with an exact expiry date, so there is always an estimation for them.

Yes, pine nuts can also go bad as every nut has a time span after which it turns bad.

For example, cashews, almonds, walnuts etc.

, usually get worse after a long time.

But pine nuts cannot be stored for that long.

That is because they contain high oil, which makes them rancid.

Once your pine nuts have become rancid, there is no other way to restore them.

So it is better to eat them before they go bad.

What can help you save your nut is the storage factor.

Storing these nuts correctly can help you enjoy the delicious pine nuts for a little long.

How To Tell If Pine Nuts Have Gone Bad?

There are some ways by which you can figure out if your pine nuts are good or bad.

First, the appearance of nuts can change as they begin to spoil.

These nuts will develop a mold that is usually green and white.

After you see this mold then, you need to be ready to throw your pine nuts out.

Another trick to finding out bad pine nuts is their smell.

Pine nuts have a nutty fragrance when they are fresh.

But if you feel a stinking odour, it is a sign that your nuts have gone bad.

If you still cannot tell even after seeing and smelling your nuts.

Then you can try tasting your pine nuts.

This will let you know clearly that the nut is gone bad.

Eating a bad pine nut is not at all pleasing.

Your fruitful pine nuts will develop a bitter taste as soon as they turn bad.

Taking a small bite will give you a foul taste that you feel like throwing up.

Storage and untied condition of pine nuts can result in rotten pine nuts.

Try keeping your nuts away from food contents that have strong essence.

This will help in preventing the nut from having a bad odour.

How to Store Pine Nuts?

A fantastic tip that can aid your pine nuts survive longer is indeed storage.

It would help if you kept your pine nuts in an air-tied container.

Place the container in a cool and dry place.

If you do not have a container, then you can wrap up the pack of pine nuts and put them in the freezer.

Be sure to use a sealed bag and remove the air from it.

Mark the date on it to keep a proper count of time.

The kernels of the pine nut should be protected as the nut tends to go bad if this area is affected.

Moisture, direct sunlight, higher temperature and too much air are some factors infecting kernels.

Affected kernels will make the process of the rot way faster.

Therefore, one needs to save the nuts from all these and use a sealed bag if one plans to use them sparingly.

Conclusion

Even if pine nuts have a short time span; people choose them over other nuts because of their flavorful taste.

Now you know everything about pine nuts and their storage.

You can easily save your nuts from any damage.