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Garden Gate:  Walnuts  |
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 25 2006 : 1:03:52 PM
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I'm not sure if this is the right place for this or not. I have two black walnut trees that produced a ton of nuts this year. I am going to keep them and hull them. I read somewhere that you are supposed to boil them or something? I can't remember exactly and can't remember where I saw it. Does anyone have any good ideas about what I need to do with them to store them?
Thanks! 
Sarah |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2006 : 8:15:35 PM
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My grandmother harvested black walnuts every year. I'm not sure if I remember everything that she would do, but I'll try.
First she would hang them in net bags from her clothesline (I think so the squirrels couldn't get to them) for a period of time (a month?) to let the hulls rot away, or at least get soft enough to remove. I have heard of people driving their cars over them to get those hulls off, but Grandma never did that.
You have to be careful because the dye is in the hulls, and it will stain your hands and your clothes and anything it touches.
After the hulls were off, then you have to remove the shell. I've seen special nutcrackers especially for black walnuts, but Grandma would sit at a tree stump and hit them with a hammer. Then gather the half shells up in a pan and then she would work at those cracked nuts to get the meats out for a few months.
She had a few regular customers that would pay her a premium price for the black walnuts, but she always used a lot of them in cookies for us grandkids! I remember the pineapple-black walnut cookies especially but the recipe is lost... They have a strong but delicious taste. Every time I taste black walnuts I remember my grandma, thanks for posting this.
Oh, here's a link I found when googling, it sounds accurate http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h404blkwal.html
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
Edited by - brightmeadow on Oct 25 2006 8:19:05 PM |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2006 : 07:34:44 AM
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I also have black walnuts. I have gotten to the cracking shell stage numerous times but no further. I have been looking for a decent nutcracker. When I used a hammer, I crushed the shell. Also, last year when I tried letting the hull rot first, I made an absolute mess trying to get the hull off. Even though it was though, when you take the hull off as soon as you pick them up, it is not so messy.
Marianne |
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2006 : 08:47:47 AM
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Good Morning Ladies
The best nutcracker is the Lehman's Nutcracker - it works great on black walnuts. You can get on at www.lehmans.com for $32.95 and never have to put any work into getting your nuts cracked. I regret I can not help you with the other information because the book that has that information is on loan right now to a customer and will not be back for two more weeks. I will check back when the book is returned if you still are in need of further information.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2006 : 04:11:53 AM
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| Thanks for the info. Other nutcrackers I have seen are in 100.00 dollar range, 32.95 sounds much better. |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2006 : 06:28:54 AM
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My dad has black walnuts and he lets them rot off...He has never had any trouble. Maybe it 's the difference in climate? He doesn't even bother collecting any until the hulls rot off. He keeps a couple of umbrellas hooked upside down onto the trees to collect them. He has holes poked in them so that rain water drains away.
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
blog: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com |
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2006 : 07:56:20 AM
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| That is a great idea with the umbrellas. If I don't go ahead and pick mine up now I won't have any left, the squirrel will take them all. lol I had a pile of them one year waiting for the hulls to rot off. Next thing I knew they were ALL gone! |
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Garden Gate: Walnuts |
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Walnuts
