How to Harvest and Store Walnuts
Walnuts come in two types: the familiar English walnut and the native American black walnut. While the English walnut gives up its hull fairly easily, removing a black walnut's hull takes some doing - so much so that some hardy souls have been known to drive over the hulls with a car.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Harvest walnuts in early fall, from September to October.
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Knock or shake hulls from the tree once the shells are full but while the hulls are still intact, or gather them off the ground as soon as they fall.
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3
Remove the hulls, protecting your hands from stains using rubber gloves. Rinse with water to remove the tannin.
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4
Spread the shells in the sun to dry and cure for two to three weeks. Kernels will break cleanly when bent if completely dry.
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5
Keep nuts in the shell in a cool, dry area for several months. You can also shell nuts and refrigerate them for several months, or freeze them for longer storage.
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Tips & Warnings
Walnuts are delicious when eaten raw, tossed into salads, added to prepared dishes or used in baking.
English walnuts are milder; black walnuts have a stronger, distinctive flavor.
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Comments
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@ Betty in Kansas. Keep them in flat tray, shoe boxes or wooden boxes inside the house. Give a shake every couple of days to keep the air moving around them. If you can put them in the sun, so much the better.
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We have a walnut tree at work, I did collect some once but I was too sure what to do with them - will have to wait until next year now.
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so if your are supposed to "Spread the shells in the sun to dry and cure for two to three weeks." how the heck are you supposed to keep the squirrels out of them? I am doing good to get them picked up before those tree rats take off with them!
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from Winchester, UK. WALNUTS I'm, no expert, but some words from the experienced. Pick up nuts as soon as they fall. Wash the shell and remove fibrous material. Store in a dry place, preferably where there is free moving air. Moist environments will cause fungus and rot. Allow between four weeks and fours months before shelling, unless you want to consume straight away. Fresh walnuts are white with a milky / bitter taste. With age they dry, turn the traditional brown and obtain their nutty flavour.
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thanks for the info, helped alot~!
