Black Walnuts

oldrocker
oldrocker Posts: 2,590
in The Clubhouse
After YEARS of picking them up or just mowing over the damn things, I decided to try and harvest some black walnuts and was wondering how long you can keep them in the shell before you crack open the shells.

They've been husked, washed and have been stored them in a garage drying out on some wire mesh sitting on saw horses since November.

Cracked a few last night and they were really tasty.

Just curious if anyone might have some tips to this?

Thanks
David
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Comments

  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,180
    I have some black walnut trees that finally started producing big time. I worked my butt off harvesting them and cleaning them last year. This year just threw them all behind my garage in the wood and let the squirrels get the rest. They fall on my deck and stain it with their iodine so that's a problem. Very difficult to open and get the meat out but yes, I did feel they were tasty, if a bit medicinal tasting. I made a batch of black walnut tincture in vodka, but haven't used any myself. Hopefully it keeps a long time. All my walnuts are dried and sitting in ziploc bags in my basement. I had a friend take a bunch of them who makes jewelry and wanted to try the shells as a media for polishing the jewelry but it was too much work to crack them and get the pieces the right size prior to polishing. These things are hard work!!!!
    George / NJ

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  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,424
    Good and interesting question.
    All I know is that shelled nuts can go rancid.

    Hey, check this out - freeze your nuts to keep them fresh and tasting good.
    https://www.eatbydate.com/proteins/nuts/how-long-do-nuts-last-shelf-life-expiration-date/

    Not quite sure I believe the bit about shelled bits lasting longer than those in the shell, but then again, it could be like how tomato stems allow a tomato to continue to ripen? Was just thinking in terms of what nature intends...
    I disabled signatures.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,549
    Using walnut media to polish brass for reloading I can definitely state it is very good yet very harsh on the brass. I would only use it if the brass was very filthy and discolored. Corncob media is much better and shines the brass to like new where the walnut would give it a very dull mat finish. I sure wouldn't want to use on jewelry.

    Walnut are the only nut I'm allergic to. Nothing deadly just swells up my uvula to make me sound like I'm gargling. 😉
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,180
    Nuts in general, are very inflammatory for me. It's due to the high Omega6 content. Macadamias are ok, but very expensive. Hazlenuts are very good but Aldi's stopped carrying them it seems.

    Walnut shells (not sure if they use English or Black) are used with a bolt on machine to scour out intake deposits on the valves of engines, so I think it is very much on the highly abrasive side (as you say), because that's what needed for those carbon deposits. Thanks for the info on corn cob and I'll pass that on to my friend the jewelery maker.
    George / NJ

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  • mrbigbluelight
    mrbigbluelight Posts: 9,255
    Swells up your uvula ?

    .........uhm.............

    I, uh...... well.........
    Sal Palooza
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,424
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Using walnut media to polish brass for reloading I can definitely state it is very good yet very harsh on the brass. I would only use it if the brass was very filthy and discolored. Corncob media is much better and shines the brass to like new where the walnut would give it a very dull mat finish. I sure wouldn't want to use on jewelry.

    Walnut are the only nut I'm allergic to. Nothing deadly just swells up my uvula to make me sound like I'm gargling. 😉
    Gross, Ivan, I don't wanna hear about your Friday nights.

    I disabled signatures.
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  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    I crack them in a vise. It's not that bad.

    I did read this morning that black walnuts can stay in the shell for up to a year before cracking.

    Just curious if anyone who's harvested them, how long they let them stay in the shell?

    They do have a stronger flavor than English walnuts for sure.

    Just something to do waiting for spring to get here.
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,180
    edited January 2020
    If a year is the limit, without freezing, then mine that I have in my basement may be gone already. Maybe I'll make some winter North American Tree Rats happy and start throwing them out next time it snows.

    I too used my vice, however that was just the beginning of the battle because the pieces of nut required picking out of the crevices. I used an O'ring pick.
    George / NJ

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    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,557
    Gardenstater wrote: »
    If a year is the limit, without freezing, then mine that I have in my basement may be gone already. Maybe I'll make some winter North American Tree Rats happy and start throwing them out next time it snows.

    I too used my vice, however that was just the beginning of the battle because the pieces of nut required picking out of the crevices. I used an O'ring pick.

    Sounds like Autozone is the place to go for walnut supplies!
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,432
    My mother used to make us kids harvest black walnuts. We'd step on them to remove the hulls then leave them in a cool dark corner in the basement to cure. It'd take a week for the stain to wear off our fingers. Good memories. We would leave them in the shell until some snowy day before Christmas, then sit on the concrete basement floor for hours cracking them and picking out the meat. Any left over after Christmas cookies and fudge would be wrapped up in aluminum foil and stored in the deep freezer.

    As for how long they would keep in the shell? They would slowly dry out and age. They need to be stored in a cool place but I remember fresh out of the tree they were not very good. Over time they would dry out and the flavor would concentrate and making them easier to remove the meat.
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  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    audioluvr wrote: »
    My mother used to make us kids harvest black walnuts. We'd step on them to remove the hulls then leave them in a cool dark corner in the basement to cure. It'd take a week for the stain to wear off our fingers. Good memories. We would leave them in the shell until some snowy day before Christmas, then sit on the concrete basement floor for hours cracking them and picking out the meat. Any left over after Christmas cookies and fudge would be wrapped up in aluminum foil and stored in the deep freezer.

    As for how long they would keep in the shell? They would slowly dry out and age. They need to be stored in a cool place but I remember fresh out of the tree they were not very good. Over time they would dry out and the flavor would concentrate and making them easier to remove the meat.

    Recently found my Dads homemade fudge recipe, never made it myself but will try and add some of the walnuts to it.
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  • TEAforONE
    TEAforONE Posts: 1,001
    My father used to put them on a piece of cardboard,and set them on the heat ducts in the basement for a while to let them cure. Years later,he stopped doing that,and started shooting the squirrels with his pellet gun.
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  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
    msg wrote: »

    Hey, check this out - freeze your nuts to keep them fresh and tasting good.
    They have an ointment for that Scott.
    pitdogg2 wrote: »

    Walnut are the only nut I'm allergic to. Nothing deadly just swells up my uvula to make me sound like I'm gargling. 😉

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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Dang Ivan I had to look up the word Uvula. Mental image of Ivan with a swollen Uvula, yuk. Thanks for that. :smile:
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  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    Puttering in the garage this morning, I found one walnut from 2020 sitting on a shelf.

    Yep, cracked it and ate it. :o

    Excellent flavor, not that harsh overpowering taste they usually have.
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  • Hermitism
    Hermitism Posts: 4,203
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O-SX_W0lrQ
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