They ARE expensive at the store! My dad has two walnut trees and every year he shells and bags them and what he doesn't give to family (yeah dad!)He sells for donations to an orphanage that he and my mom support. They make a tidy sum.
I think his walnuts are just walnuts--not sure if it makes a difference being black walnuts, but he hulls them( wear gloves!!) lets them dry out for a week or three, then shells them. He uses an old floor tile or a wooden cutting board, a hammer and occasionally a screwdriver as a pick. Real high tech. It's technique, mostly. I'll be helping this weekend, so if I have any more hot tips, I'll pass them along.
Well, I spent a good part of my time with dad cracking walnuts, and I asked about yours. He said that Black Walnuts ARE different in that they are much harder to crack.
As for drying, I know that the few walnuts we cracked that hadn't dried (we needed to get them ALL done before he goes into the hospital) the nutmeats were still pretty soft. Uncured nutmeats are soft and almost milky if you squeeze them. Not what you'd want to eat! I'm guessing you have to let them dry/cure for the nutmeats. If Black Walnuts have a harder/thicker shell, it may take them longer.
My dad spreads out his hulled walnuts to dry in a large raised frame stretched with aviary wire, up on sawhorses, so they are off the ground and air can circulate.
Once we get them shelled, though, all we do is spread them out on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven at 225 for about 5-10 minutes, until the skins just barely start to wrinkle, to kill anything we missed and to finish drying the ones which weren't quite dry. They store well in gallon ziplocks in the freezer.
I feel for you--I have the very same problem.
ReplyDeleteYum! I'm jealous. Do you use them for baking?
ReplyDeleteAnnette....
ReplyDeleteWe are going to process the nuts in the blue bucket and see how they taste.
I purchased a 1/4 cup of crushed black walnuts last year for a recipe and they were EXPENSIVE.
I might just have $$$$ falling out of my trees and not know it.
They ARE expensive at the store! My dad has two walnut trees and every year he shells and bags them and what he doesn't give to family (yeah dad!)He sells for donations to an orphanage that he and my mom support. They make a tidy sum.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh!!! Let me see I have 7 huge black walnut trees.
ReplyDeleteOK this is what I've read about harvesting black walnuts.
First you remove the husks and then let them dry for 6 months and then you crack them open.
I guess you buy a special nut cracker for black walnuts.
Is this how he does it?
I think his walnuts are just walnuts--not sure if it makes a difference being black walnuts, but he hulls them( wear gloves!!) lets them dry out for a week or three, then shells them. He uses an old floor tile or a wooden cutting board, a hammer and occasionally a screwdriver as a pick. Real high tech. It's technique, mostly. I'll be helping this weekend, so if I have any more hot tips, I'll pass them along.
ReplyDeleteBlack walnuts have a very hard shell and they have a shell cracker just for black walnuts.
ReplyDeleteDoes he know why you have to let the shells dry before cracking them open?
Well, I spent a good part of my time with dad cracking walnuts, and I asked about yours. He said that Black Walnuts ARE different in that they are much harder to crack.
ReplyDeleteAs for drying, I know that the few walnuts we cracked that hadn't dried (we needed to get them ALL done before he goes into the hospital) the nutmeats were still pretty soft. Uncured nutmeats are soft and almost milky if you squeeze them. Not what you'd want to eat! I'm guessing you have to let them dry/cure for the nutmeats. If Black Walnuts have a harder/thicker shell, it may take them longer.
My dad spreads out his hulled walnuts to dry in a large raised frame stretched with aviary wire, up on sawhorses, so they are off the ground and air can circulate.
Once we get them shelled, though, all we do is spread them out on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven at 225 for about 5-10 minutes, until the skins just barely start to wrinkle, to kill anything we missed and to finish drying the ones which weren't quite dry. They store well in gallon ziplocks in the freezer.
Thank you for all that info and thank your dad for me, also.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to try a small batch this year. The hulls have turned black and should be easy to remove but boy do they smell awful.
I think I am going to buy this contraption for cracking the shells, it's specifically for black walnuts.
Hope your dad's stay in the hospital is short.