How to peel the hard shell of dried lotus seeds How to peel the hard shell of dried black lotus seeds

Lotus seeds are a very nutritious food ingredient and can also be used as medicine to have health and therapeutic effects on the body. Freshly picked lotus seeds can be eaten by gently peeling them with your hands. However, in order to better preserve the lotus seeds, the excess lotus seeds are generally dried. However, it is very difficult to shell the dried black lotus seeds. How to peel the hard shell of dried lotus seeds?

How to peel the hard shell of lotus seeds

1. Add alkali and cook

Add 1,000 ml of water to the pot, boil it over high heat, add about 25 grams of baking soda, stir evenly, and then pour 250 grams of dried lotus seeds into the pot. Note that the ratio of baking soda to dried black lotus seeds should be 1:10. Cover the pot, simmer it for a while, and use tools to repeatedly push and rub the lotus seeds in the pot. Be sure to rub quickly. Over time, the lotus seeds will swell and the shells will be harder to peel off.

2. Cook with rice soup

Pour a large amount of rice soup into the pot, boil it over high heat, pour the dried lotus seeds into the pot, and when you find that the lotus seeds begin to swell, take them out immediately and pour out the rice soup. Put the dried lotus seeds in plant ash or fine carbon ash, let the carbon ash fully wrap the dried lotus seeds, and after about a few hours, chop the dried lotus seeds with a knife and peel them.

3. Soak in cold water

Put the dried black lotus seeds in a basin, add a lot of cold water, and soak them for a while. Then, you can gently peel off the lotus shell with your hands to reveal the white lotus seeds. This method is a little slow, but it is also very effective.

4. Go to Red

However, you cannot cook porridge directly after peeling the lotus seeds. It is best to remove the red skin inside. You can put them into boiling water with baking soda. After boiling, the red skin inside can be easily separated from the lotus seeds. Then take out the lotus seeds without the red skin and put them into cold water to cool thoroughly.