Need Blanching?

Looking through some recipe books and healthy eating websites, I found several recipes that called for hazelnuts. I already knew that I enjoyed this flavoring in coffee. I also often pick these small round delicacies out of a bowl of mixed nuts. So I decided to buy a 5 pound bag of hazelnuts and try my hand at some new treats for my family. 

When I ordered these nuts, I did not select the more expensive, blanched version. But as I started to look more closely at the recipes, nearly all of them called for the hazelnuts to be blanched prior to being used.  Blanching is simply a process of removing the outer skin. This is not so easily done with hazelnuts. So back to Google I went. There I found two predominant methods for ‘easy’ hazelnut blanching. 

The first method for blanching the nuts called for lightly roasting and then rubbing them between the folds of a towel. This sounded pretty simple to me, and most of the recipes called for roasted nuts anyways. When I tried this, I found that rubbing the nuts required a significant amount of friction.  Even with vigorous rubbing, approximately one quarter of the skins remained.  These required scraping with a knife to remove. I was quite unsure how ‘easy’ applied to this method. 

The second method called for a quick boil. In this method you pour the nuts into boiling water that has some added baking soda. Boil the nuts for three minutes, drain, rinse with cold water and rub between the folds of a towel. After only one minute I saw skins floating in the water. By the three-minute time the water was nearly as dark as the skins. The remaining skins came off fairly easily when rubbed between the folds of the towel.We come to the Lord, just as we are. God does not require us to clean up our act before coming to know His forgiveness and presence in our lives. As we spend time in His presence, we desire to shed the bad habits and sinful nature of the old man in order to become pure in His sight. We also develop a desire to reach out and be used by God in the lives of others. When truly seeking God, we will find that to be prepared for some of the work He intends for us a blanching of the worldly desires must take place.  ^“Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;   And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],” (Ephesians 4:22-23 AMP) 

Often, through the heat hard trials, we find the old nature revealed and as it is being stripped away. When everything is going our way, there is a tendency to coast rather than willingly grow. When our lives become difficult, we find ourselves relying more on God and He can show us areas that need to be refined.  “As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts].” (Proverbs 27:21 AMP)  In these times we can shed self-reliance praise God for his work.When speaking of the love of Jesus Christ for his church, it is written,  ^“So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,  That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things [that she might be holy and faultless].” (Ephesians 5:26 – 27 AMP) Just as the water made it so much easier to blanch the hazelnuts, being submerged in the word of God makes it easier for us to shed the old nature. When not striving to do it in our own power, letting go ungodly habits is much easier to do. The more time we spend in the word, the more we want to live like God desires us to. Our desires begin to match His, and purity results.The quick boil method of blanching takes a few extra steps over the plane roasting. The nuts must dry out and be lightly roasted before they are ready to be used in recipes. It can also be a bit messy. The towel that was used became stained with the dark brown color of the skins. But those extra steps and any extra mess is so worth it. Time with the Holy Spirit and obedience is always worth it as well. In time you will find yourself ready for what God has for you. 

So if you see that there are things the Lord wishes to take from your life to make you more valuable in His service, don’t hesitate. You will find truth in what the Bible says, “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth [the material for] a vessel for the silversmith [to work up].” (Proverbs 25:4 AMP) You will become that precious material that the master silversmith - God, Himself, can use.  Jump into and immerse yourself in the word of God.  Rejoice, and let Him do the work of purifying you for His service!