This morning we went to the market and came upon these green things that have a tough, bumpy skin. I stopped and asked the vendor who was actually writing a sign as we spoke. It said: dry them, peel them, crack them, eat them. Do you know what they are? (answer after the jump).
Are you ready? They’re black walnuts! I’ve always wanted to try a fresh walnut, so I can’t wait to try these puppies out. Finding these really makes me understand why walnuts are expensive—there’s only one nut is each of these things. That’s a lot of work! I’ll let you know how they taste.
October 8th, 2011 at 10:28 am
The house I grew up in had 2 black walnut trees and those green pods would rain down every fall. Im surprised they are selling them. The nuts were seriously bitter…only good for the squirrels is what my mom said. I’ll be curious if you think the same.
October 8th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Oh my gosh, Good luck getting the nut out! I used to try to crack these babies with a hammer as a child and only when my parents got out the sledge hammer could we get into them. You will probably want to let them “mellow” a little before peeling the stinky, stainy, gross rind off of them (with gloves or some sort of protection, definitely!) The nut will keep inside just fine, and it’s easier to do once the skins have turned a mottled, bruised yellowy color. I’ve also heard that once you get rid of the rind if you soak the nut shell for a day it helps them crack more easily. Let us know how it turns out!
October 9th, 2011 at 5:39 am
I didn’t know you could eat these. But they smell like nothing else on earth–fantastic. I’ll be very interested to hear how you use them and how the nuts taste.
October 9th, 2011 at 11:34 am
Black walnuts have an almost perfumed, haunting aroma, but…their shell is as effective as a dragon guarding jewels when it comes to reaching the nut meats. The problem I have had with a sledge hammer is that it splinters the shell, and tiny shell shards are hard to pick out from the equally splintered nut meats. The internet is full of ideas (and pricey nutcrackers) to circumvent this problem, and it’s definitely worthwhile to try!
October 9th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I pick them up just so the house smells like the green hull. A friend has a tree and collected a bunch this year. We are letting them age a bit then see what we can get. Someone told me driving over them with the car is a good way to crack the shells. Ha. I’ll let you know!
October 9th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Fun! We used to have walnut trees growing in our backyard growing up and had to duck and cover while walking through the yard at certain times of year – otherwise we’d get hit in the head by those lovelies! I’d completely forgotten til now…hehe. They do take a lot of work, don’t they (we used to have fun going at them with hammers, baseball bats, whatever)? Can’t wait to hear what you come up with to do with them!
October 9th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
They have a very distinct flavor. My dad loved them in baked goods.
October 9th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
This is exactly how I felt when I was in Nicaragua and worked with a coffee co-op. Sounds so silly now, but l was totally shocked when I saw that coffee beans start as bright red berries on a tree. Thanks for sharing. Love this space, so glad to have stumbled onto it today.
October 10th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
I also grew up with a huge black walnut tree in the yard. Every fall we would wait till the shells were starting to split and crack in their own, the green husk would be brown/almost black. Then we would peel off the husk and crack them with a hammer on the cement walk. its really not that hard to do, we would collect a few pounds of the meat every year. Also, if you’re into dying things at all, the green husks make the most incredible green dye, just stew the husks and your fabric or clothes with water on a simmer on the stove top and add salt at the end to help set the dye. Particularly beautiful over sky blue base color.
October 10th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Walnuts? Really? I never would have guessed!
October 10th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
i love all the stories you all are leaving! i’m a little nervous to try to crack these puppies open!
October 10th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
I have also heard that driving over them with a car will aid in cracking them. Black walnuts are full of a dark brown stain which is close to permanent! Good advice about wearing gloves while peeling and cracking them. When I’ve dyed or stained with black walnuts, I’ve always gotten a rich, deep brown–especially with wool. My husband’s favorite black walnut recipe is black walnut ice cream.
October 11th, 2011 at 12:06 am
You should try making Nocino! It’s an Italian walnut liqueur that sounds fantastic. http://www.oregonlive.com/mix/index.ssf/cocktail-recipes/nocino-walnut-liqueur.html
October 13th, 2011 at 4:25 am
Ohhhhhh my cypriot neighbour grew these, and then spent days boiling them up to make a spoon sweet. The walnut was left whole. The end result was unbelievable. You are soooo lucky to have them.
October 17th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
I have 2 very large trees in my yard and the best way to get to the nut inside is to let them sit in the grass for a few days, the dew makes the green outer “shell” very soft and then just take your shoe and rub them on the ground like you are wiping your foot over them and the green part just melts away. Very mushy like. Then I suggest you put some gloves on because this is where you get walnut stain!!!! pick them up and wipe them off and store in a dry place for a few days until the outside shell is dried and then crack and enjoy. Once dried I don’t find them bitter at all. if you like I can ship you about a ga-zillion buckets full from my yard! We just collect them and throw them intot the woods for the squirel and other critters!
October 30th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
we have a walnut tree in the backyard. lots of walnuts this year. they are very tough to crack. our neighbor used to put them in the driveway and run over them with her car:)
November 14th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Fresh nuts are very tasty , usually they put them in sun to dry after that they rub their skin off , and make them dry well in the sun so they are kept for a year with there shell.And when u eat them fresh u should remove the inner skin this is what make a little bitter if not dried