How to harvest black walnuts?

Question

Ok. My neighbor has a black walnut tree in her yard and she said I am free to take and use however much I want. I dont know the first thing about harvesting walnuts. All she told me was that I need to put them on a large screen and let them sit for a while. Do I pick them off the tree or off the ground? How long do I have to let them sit? After I take off the outer peel do I need to let them sit again? And lastly, do I do anything extra after I open them from their shell or can I use them right out of the shell? I love to bake with walnuts and if this is going to save me money then I am all up for harvesting them.

Answer 1

Usually one lets the walnuts fall. The traditional way is to beat the tree with sticks! ("A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more they're beat, the better they be"), however, I generally pick them up as they fall. Put them in a dry airy place to dry. The skins will wither and go black and the nuts will come out clean.

Dry them for a little longer, when they will be ready to use. As they dry they become sweeter. A fresh walnut is often a little bitter.

I don't believe I have ever seen a black walnut. The European walnut is what we have here but the harvesting, at least, should be much the same.

I have to say that pickled walnuts are the way I prefer to deal with them. They should be picked in early June, when they are nearly full size but soft all the way through. If you can stick a darning needle through them without resistance, they are ready. If you can feel the slightest bit of hard shell, it's too late.

Prick the skin all over with a needle and place the walnuts in a strong brine for a week to ten days. The brine will go black (and so will the walnuts) but that is the juice and nothing to worry about. Some recipes advocate changing the brine every two days but I don't think it necessary. After 10 days, drain off the liquid, put the nuts into jars and pour on boiling spiced vinegar, as one would do for dill pickles or pickled onions. Close the jars and put in a dark place till Christmas. Pickled walnuts, sliced, are delicious with cheese and cold meats.

Answer 2

Black walnuts have a much stronger taste than the english walnuts normally used for eating, a lot of people don't like them.

You don't need any roasting process, they can be used out of the shell.

The husk is probably easier to remove while the nuts are green but it contains a juice that will stain your skin or anything else brown and there's no way to wash it off.

I did see a newspaper article a few years ago recommending the best way to husk them was to drive your car over them on the driveway. Never tried it though.
You wouldn't have to worry about the shells breakiing though. Black walnuts have really tough shells.
PS once you do get them cracked its still a big pain to get the nut meat out. I suspect your neighbor tried and decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.

Answer 3

My Dad use to have us pick up the walnuts that fell from the tree and throw them in the driveway after running them over the outer husk comes off clean then we would pick them up and lay them out on a screen to dry. Then he would crack them open and use the meat right out of the nut

Answer 4

My tree has only started producing. 5 nuts last year and only 5 more this year, there were at least a couple of dozen but either the squirrels or deer got them. The outer green husk will stain everything when you remove it so wear rubber gloves or your hands will be brown for quite a while. Since I only had a few I just cut them open with a knife. Then I left them out to dry. The squirrels got them too so I now I wait till next year.

Answer 5

i think i live in the worlds black walnut capitol, the Ozarks.

we pick them up off the ground and put them in a low spot in the driveway so the hulls get knocked off and the sun dries out the nasty black stuff.

after the hull is off lay them on something hard and hit them with a hammer to break the nut and pick out the meat. with a little practice youll be able to figure out the best spot to hit them to break the shell down the middle

Answer 6

Simply!
I bring the black walnuts harvester to harvest them.....