Anyone here harvest black walnuts?

[CathyA]

Black walnuts are a totally different animal from English walnuts. We have hundreds, if not a couple thousand of these trees on our property. This year is unbelievable on how many have been produced. Before I go into it much, I'm wondering if any of you harvest these?

[SteveinMN]

We have a black walnut tree in our front yard. For some reason it was not a spectacular producer this year, but some years are like that.

We don't harvest them. Years ago a friend of mine and I visited a town (in Missouri?) during its Black Walnut Festival (probably had a less-generic name than that). Kind of like the Gilroy Garlic Festival -- black walnuts in all kinds of foods. We shared a few items and I decided I just don't like the flavor (she liked it more than I do but it was not a must-have). Add in that getting to the actual nuts is a messy stains-everything process and we just leave them for the squirrels or anyone walking by who wants them.

[Lainey]

Walnuts are expensive, but do black walnuts taste different than the generic walnuts for sale? If not, I'd be tempted to spend some time harvesting some of them for personal use.

[Alan]

Walnuts are expensive, but do black walnuts taste different than the generic walnuts for sale? If not, I'd be tempted to spend some time harvesting some of them for personal use.Yes, they do taste different, much stronger and often bitter to my tastes. I think the secret to making them enjoyable is a long drying process which allows them to mellow a bit.

[Tybee]

Yes, they do taste different, much stronger and often bitter to my tastes. I think the secret to making them enjoyable is a long drying process which allows them to mellow a bit.

We love the flavor and do harvest them. Trick is getting shells off. My mom used to run over them with the car. You hve to let them dry out, and watch out for the dye that they contain, which will stain everything.

Blackwalnut sour cream coffee cake is the absolute best.

[Tenngal]

I have memories of people running over them with cars to crack when I was a kid. They are strong and good in limited amounts in things like oatmeal cookies. Hard work to crack, very hard work.

[Williamsmith]

Never mind the walnuts......the wood could be sold for a very nice price for furniture making.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

I love the taste of black walnuts. Much better than the English walnut in my opinion. But like others have mentioned, getting the shell off and then cracking them takes some work. They do need to dry out for a while so that the mushy greenish stuff in the outer shell doesn't stain everything, and the kernels will be easier to extract when they are dry also. I imagine if they are not dried beforehand then the taste would be bitter, but dried kernels of black walnut has a delicious taste to me. Growing up we used these in lots of dishes, and when someone said "walnut" this was what we were referring to. If it was the other variety then they would be referred to as "English walnut" because we didn't have these usually unless they were bought in a bag of mixed nuts etc.

[Float On]

It was a good way to make some extra money when I was in school. We have several large stands of walnuts on the farm. We'd take an old farm truck into the woods and scoop them up by the shovel full in some areas. There are process buyers that would buy our truck loads run them up a conveyor belt and through a shelling machine then pay us for the weight of nuts. Dad doesn't mess with them now just leaves them for the wildlife. I've got friends from back home posting photos of doing the same thing so there are still a few process buyers down in the Amish countryside.

This was just posted by MDC. I love our conservation department in this state. http://www.lakenewsonline.com/news/20171013/nuts-vital-for-species-to-survive-winter

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone, and thanks Float On for that link. It's a good one.

I tried harvesting some 2 years ago, but got very little meat out of them. DS got me a really good nutcracker, but it was still so much work. I'm learning that you should pick them close to when they fall off the tree, remove the outer stuff and then let them cure/ripen for at least a couple weeks. I collected a bucket-full the other day and cut off the outside part, but that took awhile. Then I realized I could run over them with my golf cart. (raised, with big tires). I was afraid the car might break the shells. Anyhow......that worked great. I use some rubber gloves though, since it can stain so much. I put the nuts in a big bucket and sprayed them, drained them, sprained them, drained them, several times. Then I set them on several cooling racks in the house. When the shells are dry, I will hang them up in a mesh bag for awhile. I did throw out the ones that floated, since they supposed have no nut meats in them.

There's several You-Tube videos that are useful, and I've learned when you're cracking them that it's good to use wire cutters to cut some of the walls inside the shell, to take out bigger pieces. Using a vice looks like a good possibility too.

I've heard you can freeze the nuts-in-the-shells too, or hang them up in a cool dry area for quite a while. If this goes well, I might consider some sort of small device that will make all this easier.
I've even read that you can burn the shells like firewood. They make a good dark dye too. I have a friend who said she found several bottles in the ground around her old great grandparent's home with the label "Walnutto" on them. She showed it to other family members and they laughed, saying it was a stain and the great grandfather used to use it to dye his hair.

I just can't believe how many we have here. It's nice to know that they won't be "wasted" if we don't use them........but instead, feed a lot of wildlife. It's hard to believe that chipmunks and squirrels can chew them open. Lots of times I can hear them chewing away at them.

[Tybee]

Cathy, here is a recipe for the sour cream black walnut cake, from Cooks.com:



SOUR CREAM BLACK WALNUT CAKE



2 sticks butter
3 c. sugar
5 eggs
3 c. sifted flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. crushed black walnuts
Cream butter and sugar and cream well. Add 1 egg at a time and beat well after each. Alternate flour and sour cream beating after each addition. Add vanilla and black walnuts. Bake in tube pan for 1 hour 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool before removing from pan.

[frugal-one]

We love to harvest black walnuts. We collect them and take the green part off right away. DH made a double sided rack to wash the nuts with the pressure washer. Then they are put in water and the ones that float to the top are thrown out since they are no good. We then hang them in mesh bags in the garage to dry. It is a simple pleasure to put on nice music and sit together at the kitchen table and pick the meat out of the nuts. DH already has cracked them open. I love the nuts in baked oatmeal and in many baked goods.

[Tiam]

I've never harvested them. Can the hulls be soaked or brined off? Just asking.

[razz]

When my friend and I walk the old repurposed railway trail, we remove or kick away the massive number of walnuts from the walking area. It really helps the cyclists and other walkers avoid tripping in some way. This year we have kicked a large number so lots of 'hard mast' for the critters this fall.

[CathyA]

Tybee.....thanks for that recipe! By "crushed walnuts", do you mean more than just chopped?
Do you use any icing on it?

Frugal-One........how big is that double-sided rack? What's it made out of? I've been putting them in a big bucket and washing them many times, but draining it after each time is a pain for me. Do you feel like most of the stuff is off after you use the power sprayer? Does that take very long? Do you know....is it bad for a little of the black stuff to stay on the shell for storage? I'm thinking it will probably brush off easily, or just not matter.
Do you dry them well before storing them in a mesh bag? Thanks!

[frugal-one]

The rack is about 2 1/2 feet x 2 1/2 feet and made out of wood and large metal mesh (probably 1 inch). We hang the walnuts in the mesh bags to dry... about 6 weeks (???).