Posted by steven on October 18, 19100 at 15:26:23:
In Reply to: Harvesting Walnuts posted by Michelle Palmer on October 10, 19100 at 18:37:47:
Michelle,
HARVESTING NUTS
Walnuts should be harvested when they fall naturally from the tree and when you can remove the hulls easily, which it is debatable if they are ever easy to remove. As the nut ripens the hulls will change from green to a yellow color which usually happens in the middle or latter part of September. To test for full ripening you should be able to make a depression or dent the hull with your thumb and the hull itself should have begun to crack a bit. If you prefer you can also pick or shake them from the tree. Either way the harvest will go on for a few weeks. You want to pick them off the ground twice a week. If the hulls begin to decompose or are left on too long after harvesting the juice in them will cause some dark areas on the kernel and impart a bitter flavor to the meat. By all means do wear rubber gloves when hulling and cleaning them as the juice will stain your skin or just about anything it touches including concrete!
I have heard of many different methods of hulling them from dumping them in a burlap bag and running the car tires over them to letting them bang around in a cement mixer. Some folks stomp on them and others beat them with a hard rubber mallet. Whatever works...
Once you have hulled them you need to clean them. Wash them in a large container filled with water to remove all the loose crud and juice. Change the water as needed. You will be able to discard the bad ones at this time, as they will float while the good ones sink. You are ready to proceed to the drying process. It will take 2-3 weeks of drying in a cool place like your shed or garage with good air circulation. Mainly you don't want any moisture to get on them and develop into mold. Wire screens are very handy for good drying.
When they are done drying you can store them in glass jars with tightly sealed lids placing them in a dark place. You can also shell them for storage. You need to find the best method for cracking and removing the meat. Black walnuts are the absolute hardest nuts to crack with the English variety being easier. Most people do use a hammer to crack the shell. You may then need pliers and a nut pick to get the meat out of the shell. I should mention that you want to wear rubber gloves for this process too. You can "temper" them for easier cracking by soaking them in water for 2 hours, draining them and putting them in a closed container for 10 hours or so. Once you've cracked them and extracted the nutmeat store them in plastic bags in the freezer. They will keep almost indefinitely in this manner.
Whew! I know that's a lot of work but think of all the goodies you can make with them like brownies, cakes, fudge, using in pasta sauces and that classic Waldorf salad." And on that here is a simple but delicious recipe for all you walnut hunter-gatherers out there!
Candied Walnuts
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups walnuts, halved
Combine all ingredients except vanilla and nuts.
Simmer on low heat until soft.
Take off heat, add vanilla and pour over nuts.
Let cool. Enjoy!
By Judi, From Gardening in Harmony Organics
Michelle asked:
: I have a friend that has a walnut tree. They would like to know how to harvest the walnuts properly as their tree is always loaded with walnuts