walnut harvesting?

Question

I hope someone can help! I have a walnut tree in my garden which has recently produced lots of walnuts :) They have been lying on the ground for a while and their husks have in most cases rotted away entirely, leaving the recognizable walnut shells. I have collected them all in a bag. They are damp as it has been raining a lot. I'm worried I left them too long outside getting damp. Does anyone know if they are still ok to eat and should I dry them for a period of time? Sorry if it's a silly question!

I should have said, I think these are "English walnuts" rather than black walnuts.

In response to one of the comments, the hard shells appear intact (but damp!), it is the outer hush that has rotted away.

HUSK not HUSH!

Answer 1

Hi Susy, This was not a silly question, but you have had at least one silly answer. You should never eat anything that you are not sure of especially if it has mould on. Walnuts are often pickled to stop them from growing mould and to preserve them for as long as possible. The ones that the shells have opened will probably have been spoiled by now, although you might get away with them opening in a dryer climate. So I would not recommend that you eat any damp/mouldy ones. There are many websites where you can find advice on pickling and preserving and you should find out how to go about that there if you are interested. If you were to look up an agricultural website you will find out how dangerous these could be to livestock etc. While walnuts may not affect humans in the same way - it would still be a very risky thing to try to eat. (I've been a Chef for over 35 years) I hope this helps to answer your question. All the best Rab.

Answer 2

Like all raw, natural foods, your senses will tell you whether it's good or not; open a couple and if the flesh looks full and pale, have a bite. If they are withered or over bitter, then the shell has let in too much damp and they've gone bad.

Weigh them in your hand; the ones that have gone off will be feel lighter too.

If you don't want to eat them all now, they will keep better if you dry them out, in not more than 3 layers deep; either in a shed out of the light, or if you can, hung in nets or stockings above a heating stove or radiator.

I'm harvesting 10 acres at the moment.

Answer 3

They're probably just fine. I take it these are black walnuts?
Crack a few, pick out the meat, and taste it.

Here's my family's protocol from the days when we went nutting:
Pick up black walnuts, hull and all.
Either: spread the walnuts on a gravel driveway and drive back and forth over them to dehull, or run them through an old hand-crank cornsheller.

Place dehusked nuts in a tub of water to rinse. Pull out nuts, dump water, dry nuts on flattened cardboard boxes for a couple of days, then dump in a barrel for storage and later cracking.

Answer 4

We gather the walnuts and put them in the Greenhouse to dry off. Afterwards we shell them and put them on a cake cooling tray on top of the heater to dry out, finally storing them in tins for Christmas, although we had so many last year we are still eating them. Do wear gloves when picking them up, otherwise you will have badly stained hands

Answer 5

Spread them out on a sheet or towel and let them dry. The damp won't harm the nuts, but you get a smelly mould on the shells. They won't poison you. The only way to find out if they are any good is to roast some and try them.

Answer 6

If they are black walnuts they will be fine. They just need to be cleaned off and dried. Let them air dry for a month or so. I usually put mine in a onion sack and hang them near the furnace return air vent.

Answer 7

Dont leave them on the ground any longer because the maggots will eat their way through. gather them up and they still will be edible and you can use nut crackers for the ones that are not bare.

Answer 8

try the nuts.if they taste ok and do not smell musty.,they will be fine,