Time frame for nuts in the fridge

**Palooka** · 06-20-2008, 02:52 AM

I have walnuts in a bag(never opened) in the fridge that was from last year. My mom gave them to me for a food gift when my son was born. I never used them and I can't believe I have not... as a great source of Omega's 3. lalala..

I always keep any nuts in the fridge but was wondering if these would be bad or not? If you stock up on them, would the freezer be better than the fridge? Or the same? I wonder if I should throw them out or use for baking...

TIA

**Darlene** · 06-20-2008, 07:24 AM

I store shelled walnuts, almonds & pecans in the freezer. Cashews & peanuts are eaten quickly so no need to store. It's so handy having them there, they don't clump together or anything & are ready to use quickly after taking them out.
Walnuts here get used on green salads mostly.

**Michelle** · 06-20-2008, 07:35 AM

I store them in the freezer too.

**Kris B** · 06-20-2008, 11:46 AM

I store mine in the freezer and it seems like they last forever. I just started putting my shelled sunflower seeds in the freezer. We like them on salads but it seemed like they were funny tasting before we could eat them all. So I figured if I can store nuts in the freezer the seeds should be good too. I'm glad I did because it has worked great. They taste fresh and I don't have to worry about the bag going bad before we can eat it all.
Take care,
Kris

**freyadog** · 06-20-2008, 02:00 PM

How about nuts that are still in the shell? How long do you think that they will last? Also I have a large bag of pecans still in the shell that got pushed back in the pantry and they must be 2 years old. Am I bad or what about that part of the pantry??? Would they still be good?

**dolphin** · 06-20-2008, 03:50 PM

You need to break open a few of the nuts in the shell that have not been frozen. They tend to get wormy and they do spoil, especially walnuts. Likely, they have gone bad but the only way to know is to smell them and maybe take a tiny taste of one.

I've frozen pecans in my freezer for as long as 3 years and they were still very good and fresh but I don't know how safe that is, lol.

**Palooka** · 06-21-2008, 02:42 AM

But what about the one's that have been stored in the fridge and not the freezer? Is it the same? *with stupid*

**Pemberleyan** · 06-21-2008, 03:03 PM

Pecans left in a pantry will definitely be bad in no time -- I'm talking about several weeks. I have even had pecans begin to go rancid before I could get them shelled.

Fortunately for the past few years I have either lived where I could pick pecans or was given pecans by those with their own trees. Pecans have a very short shelf life outside of the freezer, but will literally last YEARS in the freezer if well-packaged. Sorry -- I can't say about the fridge, but taste them and if they taste the least bit rancid, give them to the squirrels.

I have a sweet relative who said she wanted to make a pecan pie for a family get-together last fall. I offered to give her some of my pecans from my freezer, but she said they had tasted them and were fine. I proceeded to bite into the pie and it was terribly rancid. So I guess if you're not used to eating them, you might not realize they're rancid when they are.