How do I store and use nuts, seeds and dried fruit?

Nuts and seeds are high in unsaturated oils, which oxidise. That happens slowly enough that people do not notice their nuts have gone off, and the resulting dull bitterness gets blamed on the recipe.

What you'll need

• Airtight containers
• Freezer space (optional)
• Frying pan or oven (optional)

Step by step

1. Store nuts and seeds in the freezer.They keep for a year or more frozen and only a few months at room temperature. They can be used straight from frozen with no thawing.
2. Smell them before using.Rancid nuts smell like old paint or crayons. If they smell of nothing much and taste slightly bitter, they are past their best.
3. Toast them before use.A dry pan over medium heat for a few minutes, or an oven at 180°C for eight to ten. It transforms the flavour and is worth doing every time.
4. Watch them constantly while toasting.They go from pale to golden to burnt in under a minute. Take them out slightly early — they continue colouring on the hot tray.
5. Toast whole and chop afterwards.Chopped nuts toast unevenly and burn at the edges. Whole first, then chop once cool.
6. Store dried fruit airtight at room temperature.It keeps for months. If it dries hard, soak it briefly in hot water, tea or spirits to rehydrate.
7. Toss dried fruit in flour before adding to a cake batter.It stops it sinking to the bottom. The same applies to chocolate chips and any heavy addition.
8. Use nuts for texture as much as flavour.A handful of toasted nuts on a soft dish provides the contrast that makes it feel finished. This is one of the most under-used finishing touches.

Tips

• Buy nuts in quantities you will use within a few months unless you are freezing them. Large bags at room temperature are usually stale before they are finished.
• Ground almonds and nut flours go rancid faster than whole nuts because of the increased surface area. Freeze them.
• Nut allergies are among the most serious. Always tell people when a dish contains nuts, including in oils and pastes.

Common mistakes

• Storing nuts in a cupboard for a year — The oils oxidise and go rancid, giving a dull bitter taste that people often blame on the recipe rather than the ingredient.
• Chopping nuts before toasting — The small pieces burn while the larger ones are still pale. Toast whole, then chop.
• Walking away from toasting nuts — They go from perfect to burnt in under a minute, and burnt nuts are bitter and unusable.

Questions people ask