I have a box of black walnuts, do I crack them open and let the meat dry, or do let them in the shells for a while? New to this, in the past I purchased them in a store already shelled out.
My dad would sit and crack black walnuts. once they outer shells dry out he would crack them. They are very strong tasting. he found that if you bake them for 15 minutes in the oven that would take would mellow the flavor out . I will ask him for more info and get back to you.
We kids would pick up the nuts, and put them on the old driveway. Dad would run back and forth over them with the car. That would take the husks off. We would let the nuts and husks dry on newspapers for a few days on the garage floor. Then finish removing the nuts from the husks. When the nut shells seemed dry we would put them into buckets and haul them to the basement. Then mom would take a hammer to a bowlful at a time. (She didn't trust this job to us kids. She was afraid we would smash them too small, and the nut meats wouldn't come out as big as she liked.) Then as long as they would last through the winter she would sit in the evening picking walnuts out of the shells. Yummy! They make great gifts too. Black walnuts sell well at farmers markets around here. DD and I will be doing this during winter this year. I didn't know about baking them for 15 mins. to mellow flavor. I would love more info on that, Michele.
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon
Garden Gate: Harvesting black walnuts/ English walnuts
Harvesting black walnuts/ English walnuts
Posted - Oct 15 2015 : 4:47:10 PM
