How to blanch and peel nuts?

I recently blanched and peeled the "skin" off 500g of shelled pistachios and 500g of almonds.

For the pistachios I poured boiling water over them, waited a minute, strained, and then rubbed the nuts in small batches in a clean cloth to pull the skin off.

For the almonds, I tried the same strategy as the pistachios. But this was not so good. The skin starts to dry too quickly. So I poured more lukewarm water over them.

Then I dried them in an oven preheated to 150C for about 10 minutes. They are still a but soft, so I may have to do this again later.

My question is, is there a better way? That took a really long time.

Best Answer

You're missing an important step here: You need to use cold water immediately after the boiling water in order to halt the cooking process.

Boil them for about 1 minute, then drain. (You can pour boiling water over them, as in the case of almonds - it doesn't really matter how you do this.)
Submerge or rinse in cold water, to prevent any further cooking and softening;
Peel them.

For the case of almonds, you should not rub them in order to peel. Just pinch the end - they should pop right out of their peels. If you find it taking any more effort than this, stop, don't waste any more time on peeling, and just blanch them again. If you've blanched them long enough, peeling will be very easy.

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Quick Answer about "How to blanch and peel nuts?"

Boil the water in a saucepan.

Add the almonds and allow to boil for exactly 1 minute.

Remove pan from heat and immediately pour the contents into a strainer or colander.

Run cold water over the nuts to reduce the heat.

Peel by squeezing the nuts with your index finger and thumb.

What is the easiest way to blanch nuts?

A blanched peanut is one in which the skin is removed. The blanching process is done by putting the peanuts in hot water for about three minutes, then rapidly cooling them and rubbing off their skins.

What does it mean to blanch a nut?

In a small pot or saucepan, get the water to a boil. Toss in the almonds you want to blanch. Leave them in the boiling water for 60 seconds. No more, no less \u2013 60 seconds is just perfect.

How long do you blanch nuts?

Place your raw almonds into the boiling water. Let them boil for exactly one minute. Don't boil for any longer than 60 seconds, or your almonds will start to soften. Drain the almonds immediately in a colander or strainer and rinse them with cold water to cool them.

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More answers regarding how to blanch and peel nuts?

Answer 2

Blanching the shelled pistachio nuts for one minute and then plunging them into ice water made them soft. There was no crunch left in them like there was with the unblanched pistacios. Therefore, I searched the Internet for additional advice and found a video of de-skinning pistachios by using a food processor with the softer, more flexible blade attachment (rather than the ridgid, metal “chopping” blade.) That method worked well. I had already taken the shells off by hand, then the plastic blade of the processor did a fairly good job of removing the skins. No use of water meant the nuts were still crunchy. Process for only seconds at a time or you run the risk if chopping the nuts in with the skins!

Answer 3

For easy peeling of the almond's skin, it's better to soak it in cold water overnight.

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