Do Pecans Go Bad?

The pecan is known for being a variety of walnut, and it comes from green, leafy trees that grow in the US and Mexico’s southeastern/south-central regions. Nuts are a staple food that, while widely used at holidays to present treats like cakes and nut cookies, these tasty nuts not only add flavor to the table but are also very healthy.

You may be interested in buying a couple of pecans to prepare a couple of dishes because their recipes ask for them or on the other hand, you may have bought a good amount to add them to your diet in general, in any case, you will need to know everything about their duration and storage to avoid spoiling, luckily for you those are the main topics of this article. Keep reading so you don’t miss out on anything.

How to Store Pecans

Pecans provide heart-healthy fats, but they supply vitamins and minerals, protecting against nutritional deficiencies and improving overall health. Pecan nuts also provide us with small riboflavin, calcium, niacin, pantothenic acid, and selenium.

To take advantage of all the benefits that pecans have to offer, they must remain in good condition before consuming them, and the way to achieve that goal is to store them properly. Regarding the storage of pecans, it could be said that they are practically the same as the rest of the nuts, so you do not have to do any complicated activity such as reinventing the wheel so that you can save them.

There is a decisive factor in the storage of pecans, and it is their shell. The presence or absence of it significantly changes the way you should store each one. What you must do to be able to preserve the pecan in each situation can be summarized as follows:

With Shell

Regarding where you should store pecans, it depends on how long you plan to consume them; if you plan to use them within a few days, you can leave them at room temperature. The place should be cool, dry, and dark. In general, the pantry can meet these parameters without problems, so we recommend using it.

If you plan to consume them in a couple of weeks, then we recommend that you store them in the refrigerator, although in this case, it is not necessary to keep them in good condition if it helps to extend the period in which they are fresh.

Without Shell

When pecans do not have their shells to provide protection, it is impossible to leave them at room temperature because they will not stay in good condition. In this case, you should keep your pecans in the refrigerator. Still, they will need you to keep them in an airtight container so that they are not affected by the aromas of other foods with which they share space nor refrigerator’s humidity.

Can You Freeze Pecans?

You may have bought more pecans than you thought you would eat at the time, and you are considering long-term storage. You have probably thought of freezing them as an option for that purpose, but you are not very sure about it, do not worry. Doing so works perfectly.

The best way you could find to store your pecans is to freeze them. The process to do it is practically the same as refrigerating them, both when they have the shell and when not; Put them in an airtight container or freezer bag, and they will be ready for freezing temperatures.

How Long Does Pecans Last

Regarding duration, pecans have a relatively long duration, so you should not worry if you have a little saved for a couple of weeks as long as you have followed all the rules that we indicate for it.

As we mentioned earlier, what defines the duration of pecan nuts is the presence of their shell; when walnuts retain their shells, they are capable of lasting longer than when they do not have them, so we recommend that you keep this in mind when you go to buy your pecans.

Regarding exact dates of duration for pecans, it can be estimated that for those in their shell, they can remain in good condition for around six months at room temperature and a year when refrigerated. In pecan nuts that do not have a shell, they can last around nine months when refrigerated. In both situations, pecans can last between a year and a half and two when frozen.

How to Tell If Pecans are Bad

Over time, pecan nuts can lose part of their quality, or they can go bad. That is why you must be cautious and check them before consuming them to prevent you from becoming intoxicated by eating a portion of food in bad condition.

The clearest indicator you can find on spoiled pecans is the presence of mold. On the other hand, a situation that occurs with pecans is that over time they become rancid because they contain oils.

If your pecans do not have any of the characteristics that we mentioned above when you see, smell, and taste them, then they will be perfectly usable in any dish you plan to prepare with them.

Sources:

Tree hugger

Does it go bad

Foods guy