Are black walnuts with black hulls rotten inside, or can I still eat them?

Question

I'm harvesting and hulling some local black walnuts. Some of the hulls have gotten black but most don't have worms inside. Are those nuts still good? I'm putting the hulled nuts in a pail of water; all of the black ones are sinking, but some of the greens are floating (I know I should get rid of the floaters because they don't have full nuts in them). Also, how long do I have to cure the nuts. I've heard from 2 weeks to 6 months! Thanks for any help.

I'm not eating the HULLS, I will be eating the walnuts which are inside the shells which are inside the hulls!! The shells are not black, just the outside hulls!

joetalley69- so the walnuts that have black hulls don't end up tasting worse? How long do you dry them naturally?

Answer 1

I have been picking up black walnuts for years, and have never checked them out individually. As far as I can tell, the black ones are the ones that have ripened first, and the green ones will eventually turn the same way. And as gross as it may sound, the worms won't hurt anything. Once the hull is off, green or black, you have to dry the hard shelled nut before cracking them out. I usually do this for at least a couple of weeks - it dries the nut and the stain. The hulls are where they get black walnut stain. As for some nuts tasting bad, they may not have been cured long enough, and some walnut trees just don't have good nuts on them. A good walnut tree, one that produces good nuts, is a treasure and one you may not want to tell anyone about. And a "bad" tree may have good nuts another year. But if you plan to harvest your own nuts, be proud of your stained fingers, 'cause in my opinion, black walnuts are one of the best things around -- even when you have to deal with the worms.

Answer 2

Where I come from, we rot the hulls off. Then they wash off easily. We just put the walnuts in the hulls in 5 gallon buckets and let them set 5 days or so. I cover them with a tarp. At the end of 5 days, about half the hulls are rotted and can be washed off with virtually no additional work.
The remainder, I give a few more days and they are usually ready pretty quickly. The rotten hulls don't affect the nuts. A black walnut shell is nearly impermeable!
Once I get everything washed, I heat cure the nuts at about 112 degrees for a couple of days, then just air dry them a couple of weeks.
Black walnuts are pretty easy to hull and cure.
This is the way folks I know have done this for years.

Answer 3

I have three 20 years old, or more Black Walnut trees growing and dropping hundreds and hundreds of walnuts every year, some years more than others. These Black walnuts have a process where the little white maggots strive and eat away the green and black tarish looking gulp inside.This black tarish glue is toxic, but these worms and squirlls can eat it without not problems. You are not eating provided little worms. Wear gloves,since the black hulls will stain very deep into your skin. I usually harvest them, once they drop to the ground;wash them and wash them with a power washer,or apowerful flush of water. Then I allow them to dry, and dry in the sun. You can spray lightly the clorox/water bleach over the nuts to eliminate the possibility of mole forming on the outsides. You can allow them to age, in an airated vessel. Then cut or crack the nut's chambers. They Black walnuts are rare, and as the trees become dense and dense, an of a Black Walnut tree(s) has a treasure to behold. The nuts/meats are very edible and well worth the effort of gathering them and processing the walnuts for later enjoyment.

Answer 4

Can You Eat Black Walnuts

Answer 5

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Answer 6

i am in the process of harvest the black walnuts out of our tree as well.
if some one can email me on why we have to dry the inner hard shell after the outer shell has fallen off, i would appreciate it very much, im confused on this.
also i cracked a walnut just now and the hard shel and the nut inside looked med brown with dk brown vein like patterns on it, what does that mean? anything bad, too early?
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thank you!!!

Answer 7

i own a black walnut tree. I pick the nuts as they fall and put them on a board in my yard under my patio. after the green hull turns black i wear rubber gloves and take it off makes it easier to actually take off., then when green. i then let the nut dry it self for a few days in the shell. after that i then crack them and pick the nuts out. i then lie the nuts on a rack until they dry. then i store in a air tight container for months. i have also put them in a dehydrator when needed earlier then natural dry.

Answer 8

I have NEVER heard of anyone eating the hulls of black walnuts.. they are not good to eat and one has to be very careful of them because of the dye content in them

Answer 9

Black walnuts are actually a type of walnut (rare) and are supposed to be black. Their being black doesn't mean they are rotten. It is just their natural color.

Answer 10

not good to eat. Even if you break them in half and they are the natural color. inside, it is a process of going bad. as for curing it should be at least one month.. the more you have the longer it takes to get them all cured.