Sorting and Cleaning
Sort at every stage: hulling, drying, cracking, and storage. Removing bad nuts protects good ones, and clean tools protect every batch.
Start with the pillar guide
Sorting Nuts: The Complete Guide
Sorting nuts means removing damaged, mouldy, insect-holed, light, or off-smelling nuts at every stage, from hulling through drying, cracking, and storage, so bad nuts never spoil good batches. Sort strictly and repeatedly, because one bad nut can affect neighbours in storage.
Supporting guides
The float test, useful for acorns, and the weight test, useful for most shelled nuts, both sort out light or hollow nuts, but they suit different nuts and stage
Clean nuts after gathering by removing dirt, leaves, and husk debris by hand or with a dry brush, and rinsing only briefly if truly needed, followed by prompt s
Clean tools and containers between batches by removing debris, washing where appropriate, and drying fully before reuse, so mould, insects, or rancid residue do
Sort nuts by type and, where useful, by size, keeping different nut types in separate labelled containers and noting size differences that affect drying and cra
A bad nut is one with mould, rancid smell, insect holes, cracks that expose the kernel to damp, softness, shrivelling, or a hollow, light feel. Bad nuts are dis
Before storage, check: all nuts fully dry, all visibly bad nuts removed, test kernels sound, containers clean and dry, and labels ready with nut type and date.
Common sorting mistakes are sorting only once, keeping doubtful nuts to avoid waste, mixing types, and sorting damp nuts into storage. Sort repeatedly, discard
Label sorted batches with nut type, tree or location if known, gathering date, and drying result, so you can use oldest good batches first and trace any problem
After storage, sort again before use: check for mould, off smell, insects, and damp, discard any suspect nuts, and test a sample before using a stored batch. St