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>How can you tell if nuts are rancid?  I just bought a
>bag of "raw" shelled Brazil nuts at the health-food
>store near where I work. They have no odor and taste
>alright to me, but I've never tasted Brazil nuts
>before and I really can't tell.  They still have the
>brown skin on the outside, like a filbert.

as long you can't compare with a freshly harvested nut it is difficult to
tell.
BUt most likely it is allready rancid considering that tropical nuts like
macadamias don't last long without a shell and even with the shell,   and
considreing  the time necessarry for  centralised distribution . the fact
that the brown skin is still completely there is a good sign . a very badly
rancid nut will show sign of yellowing of the flesh , if very white thru it
might be good
jean-claude