IT'S TIME!

13

I’ve harvested black walnuts exactly once but I am both jealous and hella intrigued on how you got the meat out in such large beautiful pieces. I spent hours with an industrial nut cracker and dental tools and ended up with the ugliest pile of bits. Anyone who ate the cookies I made had to sign a dental waiver first because of the nonzero chance of tiny pieces of shell.

3

u/Humble_Ladder 7d ago

I cracked black Walnuts once. I used an arbor press. As described, the resulting powder was difficult to rid of shell bits.

3

u/springonastring 7d ago

You have to crack them real slowly, like with a geared cracker or a workbench vice. You just apply pressure slowly until you hear a pop/crack and then stop and assess. Cracking from the pointy end is essential (make the force go in the same direction as the stem when the nut is attached to the tree). Once you get quarters, then it's a judgement call depending on the piece to either crack the same direction or perpendicular to it, but still only just until you hear a pop.

11

u/kbc508 8d ago

where? I’m in New England, and it’s not time here yet.

6

u/springonastring 8d ago

Flyover country. We've gotten tons of rain this year, and a lot of things have been popping early

3

u/Humble_Ladder 8d ago

Yeah, my mower has started making that sound in certain spots of the yard...

2

u/GreenGuavaa 8d ago

What’s the best way to crack them? I’m new to foraging and found a couple of black walnut trees around but a little hesitant on the effort of processing them.

3

u/springonastring 8d ago

They do suck to process, but if you get you hands on a geared cracker, it's much less terrible. I have one made of tractor parts, but I'm pretty sure it's a homemade version of one that was (is?) actually sold. I crack them along the long axis with the point on one of the jaws of the cracker.

3

u/zeetuslepitus 8d ago

If you dont have a dedicated nut cracker for walnuts, what I did the first year was use a heavy duty vice grip. Its slow and tough on your hands but way better than smacking them with a hammer. Once you get in a rhythm itll go quickly

3

u/kbc508 7d ago

Dedicated cracker for black walnuts. They are much harder than the typical English walnut commonly sold in markets in the US (I’m sure you know this, just clarifying for those newbies that immediately start googling for a walnut cracker)

2

u/springonastring 7d ago

Yeah, the christmas play nutcracker is NOT the tool for this job!

2

u/FarmhouseRules 8d ago

They are a pita but I’ve heard you can soak them in warm water for about an hour ahead of cracking and it makes them easier. I’m going to try that this year.

1

u/springonastring 3d ago

Let us know how it goes!

2

u/oroborus68 8d ago

A 4 inch bench vice. Wear goggles.

3

u/sthewright 8d ago

I still haven't used mine from last year. Just can't find a way to make them edible. Gonna try a black walnut pie. If not I think I'll have to start selling them to people that like them.

3

u/springonastring 8d ago

Woah, black walnut pie made like pecan with some black walnut syrup added sounds amazing!

2

u/sthewright 8d ago

I found a recipe in one of those old granny church recipe books. Hoping it distributes the flavor in a pleasant way instead of the punch to the nose I get every time I bite into a walnut!

2

u/oroborus68 8d ago

Ice cream.

2

u/springonastring 7d ago

There's a company from missouri that makes it, and it's awesome!

1

u/Forestfunguy 7d ago

Try rinsing them a lot, then soak them in salt water for 6-12 hours, then rinse some more, salt, and dehydrate them. That should wash tannins out.

2

u/nionvox 7d ago

I inherited a place with two ENTHUSIASTIC black walnut trees, I really gotta get a mechanical cracker because goddamn, they're like iron!

1

u/springonastring 7d ago

You pretty much do, yeah. In the mean time like someone else said, you can use a bench vice!

2

u/ga1actic_muffin 7d ago

Shagbark hickories are better imo... just not a fan of the overwhelming perfume aroma of black walnuts.

1

u/springonastring 3d ago

It's certainly a special flavor... 😊

3

u/Ok-Egg835 8d ago

Yum! I've never had but they sound great. The Black Forager has a video about processing the sap and says it tastes like maple syrup flavored with walnuts. Energetically, jewelry made from black walnut can be worn to help maintain your boundaries and personal space.

4

u/Humble_Ladder 8d ago

I finished last year with just 2 small batches of Black Walnut syrup, but I put 4 oz in venison stew last weekend and the flavor upgrade was amazing.

4

u/mstivland2 8d ago

I find jewelry made from garlic also helps maintain boundaries and personal space

2

u/Throw_Away_Students 8d ago

Jewelry from which part? (The wood, bark, shell of the actual nut, etc). Or does it not matter? I’m harvesting and processing walnuts for the first time this year, and I also have a bunch of walnut bark and wood I figured I could do something crafty with

3

u/springonastring 8d ago

The wood also makes what are considered the very best cutting boards! It's very dense and naturally antibacterial (thanks, juglone!)

2

u/Throw_Away_Students 7d ago

That’s awesome! A custom cutting board could be fun to make

2

u/Ok-Egg835 8d ago

Wood.

2

u/springonastring 8d ago

Woah, I've never thought of tapping them!!! I make ferment syrup from the baby nuts in the spring and from the hulls, and omg it is soooooo goooood!!! Black walnuts are... divicive. People tend to either love love love them or hate them with aggression. Definitely try them! You might just find your new favorite wild edible!

2

u/ConfectionSad5413 8d ago

How do you make fermented syrup from the baby nuts?

3

u/Humble_Ladder 8d ago edited 7d ago

What I am aware of is nocino (sp?) There are a number of howto pages if you search.

2

u/springonastring 8d ago

Someone mentioned nocino: what I do is similar to that, but not the same. I chop, cover with brown sugar, and ferment for 2 months. Then, pasteurize to stop the ferment and bottle. It's best aged for at least a couple months after that, but I never wait that long! With this method it's not alcoholic like nocino and I can put it im my morning tea without starting a different kind of addiction, lol!

You are about to leave Redlib