For Christmas, someone gave me and my husband a 3-pound bag of in-the-shell walnuts. I stashed the bag away in a cool, dark, dry place, and immediately forgot about them. I was doing some cleaning yesterday and ran across them. So, a couple of questions:
I’m assuming they’re still good (they don’t smell off or anything), but how much longer will they be good for? I’m assuming I’ll be able to tell if they’re rancid. I checked on the Nut FAQs (an excellent band name, as well as a phrase I can’t repeat with a straight face), and it suggested they would be good for about 7 months. Does this sound about right? Should I put them in the fridge? I was assuming it would be better in a drier environment, but I’m not a nut expert. Hee!
What the heck should I do with them? My husband doesn’t really like walnuts, and 3 lbs of walnuts is a hell of a lot to try to work into my daily diet. I was thinking of making some walnut butter, but I don’t even know if that would be good. Any other thoughts/recipes?
What’s a good way to shell them en masse? I was thinking of bribing the neighborhood children, but those pesky labor laws might get in the way.
Your suggestions, recipes, and nut jokes are greatly appreciated!
There’s this dish that I order every once in a while at Chinese restaurants that I always thought was made with chicken, but I can’t find a recipe. This is the closest thing that I can find, but it’s made with shrimp. Basically, it’s candied walnuts with shrimp and mayonnaise. I know it sounds icky, but it’s really pretty killer. Here’s a recipe that seems pretty close. I’ve never made it, but I’d give it a try if I had a bunch of walnuts.
Candied walnuts! Brilliant! The idea of candied walnuts, mayo, and shrimp makes me do this :dubious:, but it seems odd enough to be interesting. I also love the idea of waldorf salad. Easy, tasty, and chock full of fiber.
Shelling: hammer. Obviously, just hard enough to break the shell.
Uses: chocolate chip cookies. Or eat the nutmeats after toasting them very lightly for a different taste. 350 degrees 5-10 minutes, but watch them so they don’t burn.
6 walnuts yields about 1/4 cup of nutmeats, about 200 calories. A nice-sized snack. And walnuts are the only common nut that has any significant amount of omega-3 oils.
Well, Waldorf salad is basically mayo, walnuts, sugar and sweet apples and celery, usually with chicken. Other additions may apply in person. The Chinese dish isn’t so far off of that - sweet, creamy and light white meaty.
I’d freeze 'em 'til you figure out what to do with 'em. Your cool and dry instinct is right on.