Do almonds go bad?

Introduction

Do almonds go bad? It’s a popular question. Because almonds are one of the most popular and favorite tree nuts that are widely used to make plenty of products such as almond milk, almond oil, butter, flour or paste.  

Almonds are loaded with a rich source of healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, fiber and minerals that all are essential for our health, especially or women due to its wealthy supply of vitamin E. 

For those who are facing the risks of blood pressure disease, high cholesterol level or uncontrolled sugar in the blood, these nuts can also help to assist and lower these bad ingredients in our blood effectively. 

If you are a loyal consumer of almonds, you should be happy and proud of your health and just keep maintaining this habit, if not, we think it’s time for you to change. 

Almonds are usually sold in bulk so you might need to know further about their characteristics like shelf life or spoilage identifications, also the best ways to store them. 

Instead of wasting time to research this knowledge on the Internet, we will help you right in this article. 

How long do almonds last?

Most kinds of nuts have a long life span including almonds. According to the University of California, you can store raw almonds for about a year or more. 

Another kind is processed almonds that are sold in the store as a snack, has the shelf life as below:

How to tell if almonds go bad?

There are two types of almonds: raw almonds and almond snacks and each has different signs of spoilage. 

When raw almonds have mold, dark spots, smell like rancid oil or taste bitterly, you should decide to discard them. 

With the snacks, you can give it a taste to check the quality if they look alright, then keeping or tossing them is your choice then. 

Note that everything kept in a package can easily get ruined (like mold) when exposing to the air for a long time.

How to store almonds?

You definitely don’t want to waste these nutritious nuts so finding ways to store them is necessary. All nuts are not fans of moisture so make sure that the place you keep them is dry and cool. 

Storage in a fridge or a freezer will be a good option. However, ensure the package that contains your almonds is sealed tightly. 

For snack almonds, you can consult the storage instruction on the label that usually allows them to sit at room temperature. 

But for a better result, you might want to keep them refrigerated, especially after the package is opened for the long term. 

Can you freeze almonds?

Yes, you can freeze almonds to make it last up to 2 years which is a surprising number, right? 

In fact, you just need to freeze them in an appropriate way then that long shelf life can be achieved. 

How to freeze almonds?

Now you are going to learn how to freeze almonds properly in just some simple steps.

Tips to freeze almonds

• If your snack almonds come in a tight package, just throw it in the freezer as it is
• Make sure your almonds are dry in the whole process
• You can divide your almonds into meal-sized portion for an easier thawing process

Things you’ll need to freeze almonds

• A freezer-safe container or bag

How to freeze almonds in just 3 steps

1. Place your raw or roasted almonds in a resealable bag or an airtight container
2. Label the bag with storage date
3. Stick the bag/ container in to the freezer

How to defrost almonds?

Thawing almonds is not a strict thing and almonds will be ready to be cooked per your own recipe right after being defrosted. 

We usually defrost nuts and cook instantly rather than warm them by reheating methods, that sounds a bit weird.

Materials

• N/A

Tools

• A microwave if needed

Instructions

1. At room temperature: Just simply transfer the bag of almonds from the freezer to your kitchen counter until all the almonds are thawed
2. In a microwave: For faster thawing process, you can microwave almonds on the defrost mode for about 1 minute depending on the amount

Notes

You should estimate the amount of almonds that you intend to consume then only thaw that amount to make sure that you don’t have to refrozen them again.