Quoted from JJR

This website here says walnuts that are bitter are rancid.  Hmmmmm....  This was a fresh pack I bought.


http://www.dietobio.com/aliments/en/walnuts.html

And a few others are saying the same thing.  I guess mine are bad.  I just bought them.  I don't know if I've ever tasted a raw walnut that wasn't bitter though.  Hmmmmm...

I've read that the best method is to crack open fresh ones. It's a pain though and takes longer but it will definitely help against rancidity. Regarding leaving the walnuts out to be soaked and bacteria, I use lemon juice with the water. Even if you get some bacteria, I think the body might benefit from it?

I never buy them out of the shell...it's an affront to all walnuts

Well sooks, I usually use salt in mine when I soak it.  Which kills bacteria.  But I've just been leery of it lately.  It's a mental thing.  I may resort to soaking in the refrigerator.  I do know that soaked and roasted walnuts are AWESOME!!!  But this bitterness thing has me kind of concerned if it's a sign of them being rancid.

I would soak, rinse and dehydrate them.  Walnuts are especially prone to mold and bacteria, according to my daughter (3rd year Chinese Medicine student).  Or crack your own shells for fresh nuts.

That might be the only two good ways to eat them.  Because I've never had them taste bad after a soaking and slow roasting.  But I just don't want to let them sit on the countertop to soak.  Maybe I'll do it in the Fridge.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  Or I wonder if I could just give them a quick rinse??????

Quoted from JJR

That might be the only two good ways to eat them.  Because I've never had them taste bad after a soaking and slow roasting.  But I just don't want to let them sit on the countertop to soak.  Maybe I'll do it in the Fridge.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  Or I wonder if I could just give them a quick rinse??????

I agree about soaking them in the fridge, if the room is warm.  I have a cabinet on my front deck that I often use to cool food before putting the the refrigerator.  I'd feel safe leaving walnuts to soak in a cool place like that, even if it wasn't refrigerated.

I'm sold on soaking.  I've found a local source of soaked, germinated, dehydrated almonds and flaxseeds.  They digest so much easier and I feel a lot better in general from eating them.  Maybe it's a Nomad thing, but I find that I need to eat some nuts or seeds daily to complete my sense of well-being from food.

I buy organic walnut halves, very expensive . i eat the raw only. and they have never tasted bitter.

i haven't soaked them ever yet. just nice the way they are.

I just buy the raw walnuts, shelled, from Costco.  I put the bag in the freezer as soon as I get it home.  I usually just eat a handful directly from the freezer.  I have to say that, on the whole, I have never found them to be bitter.  I do the same with the whole, raw, shelled Costco almonds.  I actually think that both nuts taste better when eaten directly from the freezer AND they help me with the "chips" cravings more when eaten frozen.

I don't know if this helps at all....

If the flesh of the nut is kinda brownish rather than creamy white the nut is rancid- it tastes awful- you wouldn't want to swallow it!

Any shopbought walnuts (shelled and unshelled) that I ever tasted were not fresh and did taste more bitter than hazelnuts or almonds.
The only way for me to get fresh and hence sweet walnuts is to collect them myself- my dad has a tree- lucky me! Unfortunately they are all eaten by christmas- yummm  

Because then I have to buy the 'bitter' ones I tend to eat them after something savoury and I agree with one of the above comments- you will get used to it!

Never tried soaking & dehydrating myself- sounds like a lot of work  

You can make great cookies with ground walnuts- search for 'hazelnut macaroons' (Haselnuss Makronen) and substitute all or part of the hazelnuts with walnuts.

PS: Are you a super taster by any chance??? If you are I am not surprised you'd find walnuts very bitter

Quoted from JJR

  
And the same is kind of true of walnut halves.  Many of them have that sort of skin that is around the meat of the nut, on the top crinkly part, and sometimes it's black and sometimes it's not.  And I'm like "Is that MOULD!!!????".  

No- those ones are good unless the nut is shrivelled like mentioned above. The shrivveled bit doesn't taste good, so just break it off and eat the rest-it's perfect.
When walnuts have mould it is of a grey/ white fluffy kind- sometimes it has tiny black dots at the end of the fluff. It is very easy to see.
Any crumbly stuff inside the nut shell means there was a little worm in there having dinner- again super easy to spot.

If you did put a piece of mouldy nut in your mouth by accident you will know by the taste straight away- so spit and rinse  

Hope that helped put your mind at rest a little bit  

Quoted from policychecker

I buy organic walnut halves, very expensive . i eat the raw only. and they have never tasted bitter.

i haven't soaked them ever yet. just nice the way they are.

Can I ask where you get them?  Are you a prop taster?  I'm thinking mine are probably just not as fresh as I'd want them to be.  I don't know.  When I buy pecans from that company they taste just fine.  Although one time I think some brazil nuts I bought from them were old too.  Maybe I just need a better source.

The make is "crazy jack organic" I get them in Salisbury's, possibly even tesco actually. they do a whole range including dried blueberries. - organically grown and produced. they have a six month sell buy date on a 100g packet but i buy a packet every other week or so , so always fresh.

Quoted from JJR

Can I ask where you get them?  Are you a prop taster?  I'm thinking mine are probably just not as fresh as I'd want them to be.  I don't know.  When I buy pecans from that company they taste just fine.  Although one time I think some brazil nuts I bought from them were old too.  Maybe I just need a better source.

So are you a prop taster?

JJR, do you have access to one of the larger natural food stores?  Turnover on organic nuts is usually fast and you can get fresher nuts than in a big chain grocery store where foods can sit in a warehouse for a long time.

I am just taster, Amber who is super taster is much more fussy she hates walnuts, flax oil normally and absolutely hates it if its cold for example.

no doubt we are all different on that one.

think

Thank you!

Huh.  I like flax seed oil.  I'm just a taster too and not a super taster I think.