In this guide
Quick answer
Two things go wrong with a dry fruit order at home. Either it finishes in the third week and the jar sits empty till somebody remembers, or a kilo was bought on a good rate in June and half of it smells of old oil by September. Both are quantity problems, and both have the same fix.
How much does a household of four actually get through?
For a home where two adults soak almonds in the morning, the children get a handful after school, and the kitchen uses nuts in cooking a few times a week, a month looks roughly like this. Adjust it up for winter and down for a smaller family, but start here rather than guessing.
| Item | A month for four | What it is mostly for |
|---|---|---|
| Badam | Half a kilo | Soaked in the morning, milk, cooking |
| Kaju | A quarter to half a kilo | Gravies, sweets, snacking |
| Akhrot kernels | A quarter kilo | A few pieces a day, winter especially |
| Kishmish | A quarter kilo | Kheer, poha, children |
| Khajur | A quarter to half a kilo | After meals, winter mornings |
| Makhana | A quarter kilo | Roasted, evening snack |
| Anjeer | A quarter kilo | Two a day, soaked overnight |
Why buy a month at a time and not six?
Because nuts are oil and oil turns. Badam and akhrot are the quickest to go, kaju is not far behind, and a warm kitchen shelf in a coastal city will do it faster than a cool one inland. The nut does not look different when it has turned. It smells faintly of paint and tastes bitter at the back, and by then the money is gone.
Dried fruit lasts longer, so khajur, anjeer and kishmish will sit happily for two or three months in a sealed jar away from the light. Makhana is drier still and keeps well, but goes soft rather than rancid if the jar is opened often in the monsoon.
Buying a month at a time also means you are never holding six months of stock at a rate that has moved. Badam at our counter today runs at today's shop rate across the grades we keep, set out on the badam price page, and that figure is read off the shop as the page loads rather than typed in once and forgotten.
What does a month of this cost?
Less than most people expect, and the reason is grade. The soaking almond and the gift-box almond are different counts of the same crop, and the gift one costs considerably more per kilo without being better to eat. A household buying the everyday grade for the jar and the large grade only for a box they are giving away spends far less over a year than one buying the large grade for everything.
Akhrot is the other place to be deliberate. Kernels in two pieces are less handsome than whole halves and taste identical, and they run at today's shop rate at the moment on the akhrot price page. For something being eaten rather than displayed, that is the sensible buy.
How do you keep it good for the whole month?
- Decant into glass or steel with a tight lid. The courier pouch is for travel, not storage.
- Keep the jars away from the stove and out of direct light, both of which turn oil faster than time does.
- Refrigerate akhrot and pista kernels in summer, and in a humid city keep them cold all year.
- Do not mix a new pack into the bottom of an old one. Finish the old jar first.
- Roast makhana in small lots as you need it, not the whole packet at once.
A first order is the awkward one, because you are guessing at seven quantities at the same time. Our orders start at ₹1,000 and every order ships free, and a month-sized order for a family of four usually lands close to that anyway. Kaju today is at today's shop rate on the kaju price page, and the whole range with today’s rates sits on one page if you would rather build the order from there.
Questions people ask
How many almonds should one person eat in a day?
Five to seven soaked overnight is what most homes settle on, which is a little over a hundred grams a month per person. Two adults doing that is most of a half-kilo pack.
Does dry fruit really go bad, or just stale?
Nuts genuinely go rancid, which is the oil oxidising, and it tastes bitter and slightly of paint. Dried fruit mostly goes hard or sugary instead, which is unpleasant but harmless.
Is it cheaper to buy a mixed pack or separate items?
Separate items, if you know what your family eats. A mix is better value for trying things or for an office drawer, where variety is the point.
Can I order a month at a time every month?
That is the rhythm we would suggest. Rates are read live, so each month’s order is at that month’s rate with nothing held over from the last one.
We deliver across India See 87 city pages
Written at our counter, where these questions get asked every week.
