On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
wrote:

>I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
>being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
>shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
>mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
>sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
>Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
>and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
>but I do now.

What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
walnuts underneath. The flavor is very good. I have never attempted
to harvest any myself, I've just been gifted some.
I want to hear what you decide and your adventures.
Janet US

On Aug 29, 2:49*pm, Janet Bostwick > wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
> wrote:
>
> >I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> >I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> >any. *It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> >being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> >shell) and pick the meat from. *Lots of work for a little
> >mound of black walnut pieces. *As I recall, they have a
> >sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> >Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> >and forth over them. *I didn't have a car back then,
> >but I do now.
>
> What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> walnuts underneath. *The flavor is very good. *I have never attempted
> to harvest any myself, I've just been gifted some.
> I want to hear what you decide and your adventures.
> Janet US

Does driving over them improve the flavor? :-) We had several black
walnut trees in our yard when I was a kid. Gawd, there were tons of
walnuts that we gathered. My old man would just crack them with a
hammer.

On 8/29/2011 6:45 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> but I do now.

On Maui I was shown what was claimed to be the original Macadamia nut
sheller. It was essentially a wheel with a rubber tire held by a strong
spring against a metal plate and the nuts ran under it. Guess what
inspired that?

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not*

On Aug 29, 5:49*pm, Janet Bostwick > wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
> wrote:
>
> >I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> >I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> >any. *It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> >being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> >shell) and pick the meat from. *Lots of work for a little
> >mound of black walnut pieces. *As I recall, they have a
> >sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> >Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> >and forth over them. *I didn't have a car back then,
> >but I do now.
>
> What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> walnuts underneath. *The flavor is very good. *I have never attempted
> to harvest any myself, I've just been gifted some.
> I want to hear what you decide and your adventures.
> Janet US

The only contribution I can make here is that we had a hotel open back
in the early 70's. It was called: 'Inn of the Black Walnut.'
Apparantly many mennonites from Pennsylvania came up here on 'the
black walnut trail.'

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
wrote:

> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> but I do now.

My mother used to have a walnut tree too, but it was probably the
other kind of walnut. I don't remember anyone complaining about
husks, so it must have been easy enough to get them off.

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:49:29 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:

> What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> walnuts underneath.

I would think you'd use two sheets of plywood, otherwise you'll be
stuck digging them out of the dirt.

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

On Aug 29, 3:16*pm, sf > wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:49:29 -0600, Janet Bostwick
>
> > wrote:
> > What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> > walnuts underneath.
>
> I would think you'd use two sheets of plywood, otherwise you'll be
> stuck digging them out of the dirt. *
>
> --
> I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

ehhhh......a little doit never hoit anybody!

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:07:31 -0400, James Silverton
> wrote:

> On 8/29/2011 6:45 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> > I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> > I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> > any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> > being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> > shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
> > mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
> > sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
> >
> > Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> > and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> > but I do now.
>
> On Maui I was shown what was claimed to be the original Macadamia nut
> sheller. It was essentially a wheel with a rubber tire held by a strong
> spring against a metal plate and the nuts ran under it. Guess what
> inspired that?

Why is everyone talking about cracking shells when he asked about
getting the husks off?

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.

Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
but I do now.

On 8/29/2011 4:45 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> any.

>
> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> but I do now.



The flavor is unique, very aromatic.

We had an old guy in town who used to give us bushels when we lived in
RI as an alternative to his throwing them over the bank into the brook
that ran past his garden. He saw me harvesting them on the lawn of the
library one day and stopped to ask if we wanted more. They were a royal
PITA to shell.

As I recall, they have a semi-soft outer shell, looking something like
a large lime. It is hard to peel unless it has dried to brown. The
inner brown layer STAINS everything almost permanently that touches it.
(Wear rubber or vinyl gloves.)

We used to crack the outer shell with a sledge hammer or by walking over
the nuts in a burlap bag on the driveway, and the inner one with my
husband's grandfather's big workbench vise, then with an old fashioned
nutpick or lobster pick. They come out of the convolute shell in small
pieces. They stored well in the freezer, became
rancid fairly quickly at room temp.

After a few years we agreed they were no longer worth the effort. Then
we moved.

gloria p

gloria p

On 8/29/2011 4:49 PM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark >
> wrote:
>
>> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
>> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
>> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
>> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
>> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>>
>> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
>> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
>> but I do now.
>
> What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> walnuts underneath. The flavor is very good. I have never attempted
> to harvest any myself, I've just been gifted some.
> I want to hear what you decide and your adventures.
> Janet US
I used to put them in a gunny sack (burlap bag to Yankee's) kept it
about half full, put it in the concrete driveway and ran over it with
the pickup a few times. If you try getting the hull off with bare hands
you will be dyed a dark brown. I always cracked the nuts in a vise,
about beat my hands off trying to crack them with a hammer. The vise
worked better.

If you put them on the driveway loose the tire passing over them will
shoot them out like a rifle shot. Break a window or knock someone out.
Don't ask how I know that.

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:16:11 -0700, sf > wrote:

>On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:49:29 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:
>
>> What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
>> walnuts underneath.
>
>I would think you'd use two sheets of plywood, otherwise you'll be
>stuck digging them out of the dirt.

Sorry. You put them on the driveway. Problem with that is that they
stain stuff.
Janet

On 8/29/2011 6:00 PM, gloria.p wrote:
> On 8/29/2011 4:45 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
>> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>> any.
>
>>
>> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
>> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
>> but I do now.
>
>
>
> The flavor is unique, very aromatic.
>
> We had an old guy in town who used to give us bushels when we lived in
> RI as an alternative to his throwing them over the bank into the brook
> that ran past his garden. He saw me harvesting them on the lawn of the
> library one day and stopped to ask if we wanted more. They were a royal
> PITA to shell.
>
> As I recall, they have a semi-soft outer shell, looking something like
> a large lime. It is hard to peel unless it has dried to brown. The inner
> brown layer STAINS everything almost permanently that touches it. (Wear
> rubber or vinyl gloves.)
>
> We used to crack the outer shell with a sledge hammer or by walking over
> the nuts in a burlap bag on the driveway, and the inner one with my
> husband's grandfather's big workbench vise, then with an old fashioned
> nutpick or lobster pick. They come out of the convolute shell in small
> pieces. They stored well in the freezer, became
> rancid fairly quickly at room temp.
>
> After a few years we agreed they were no longer worth the effort. Then
> we moved.
>
> gloria p
>
> gloria p
Yeah, but a good home-made black walnut cake is excellent. The wood is
primarily used for making fine gun stocks. Brokered a deal with a gun
stock maker years ago as I had a friend who wanted to sell about ten
thousand board feet of black walnut, air dried for about three years in
an old barn. He got a small fortune for that wood. Beautiful stuff,
particularly if it has burl in it.

On Monday, August 29, 2011 4:59:12 PM UTC-5, Chemo the Clown wrote:
> On Aug 29, 2:49*pm, Janet Bostwick > wrote:
> > On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
> > wrote:
> >
> > >I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> > >I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> > >any. *It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> > >being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> > >shell) and pick the meat from. *Lots of work for a little
> > >mound of black walnut pieces. *As I recall, they have a
> > >sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
> >
> > >Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> > >and forth over them. *I didn't have a car back then,
> > >but I do now.
> >
> > What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> > walnuts underneath. *The flavor is very good. *I have never attempted
> > to harvest any myself, I've just been gifted some.
> > I want to hear what you decide and your adventures.
> > Janet US
>
> Does driving over them improve the flavor? :-) We had several black
> walnut trees in our yard when I was a kid. Gawd, there were tons of
> walnuts that we gathered. My old man would just crack them with a
> hammer.

When I was 3 and 4 years old I loved them, and cracked them with rocks on a concrete slab. I no longer enjoy their taste. What I wish I had were hickory nuts, but the squirrels get pretty much every one.

--Bryan

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:37:32 -0700 (PDT), Chemo the Clown
> wrote:

> On Aug 29, 3:16*pm, sf > wrote:
> > On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:49:29 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> >
> > > wrote:
> > > What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
> > > walnuts underneath.
> >
> > I would think you'd use two sheets of plywood, otherwise you'll be
> > stuck digging them out of the dirt. *
> >
> > --
> > I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila
>
> ehhhh......a little doit never hoit anybody!

I was thinking about the extra work, not that.

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:13:59 -0500, George Shirley
> wrote:

> If you put them on the driveway loose the tire passing over them will
> shoot them out like a rifle shot. Break a window or knock someone out.
> Don't ask how I know that.

Ooops!

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

"George Shirley" > Yeah, but a good home-made black walnut cake is
excellent. The wood is
> primarily used for making fine gun stocks. Brokered a deal with a gun
> stock maker years ago as I had a friend who wanted to sell about ten
> thousand board feet of black walnut, air dried for about three years in an
> old barn. He got a small fortune for that wood. Beautiful stuff,
> particularly if it has burl in it.

It seems like I read somewhere that blanching nuts makes them easier to
shell. Might be worth trying if you were highly motivated. Polly

sf wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
> wrote:
>
>> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
>> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
>> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
>> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
>> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>>
>> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
>> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
>> but I do now.
>
> My mother used to have a walnut tree too, but it was probably the
> other kind of walnut. I don't remember anyone complaining about
> husks, so it must have been easy enough to get them off.
>
Speaking o' such... I sure wish I had a walnut tree. How,
otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????

--
Jean B.

In article >,
"Jean B." > wrote:

> Speaking o' such... I sure wish I had a walnut tree. How,
> otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????

Steal them. I worked with a woman, and her husband was always looking
for green walnuts. They would be driving around, and he'd see some, and
insist they stop and grab a few. Then he'd drive to Italy and buy some
grappa, and make some kind of drink. He sure liked that stuff!

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
>I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> but I do now.

I guess that would depend on whether you like them or not. My grandma sent
us some once and I didn't like them at all. But I love English walnuts.

everythig you write here is accurate, and imho these are the best tasting
nut for baking and plain eating, my parents have several trees on their
farm, they pick up most and sell to a walnut guy they get a nice price, Lee
"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
>I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> but I do now.

also true, Lee
"George Shirley" > wrote in message
. com...
> On 8/29/2011 4:49 PM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
>> On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>>> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>>> any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
>>> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
>>> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
>>> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
>>> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>>>
>>> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
>>> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
>>> but I do now.
>>
>> What I heard was that you drove over a sheet of plywood with the
>> walnuts underneath. The flavor is very good. I have never attempted
>> to harvest any myself, I've just been gifted some.
>> I want to hear what you decide and your adventures.
>> Janet US
> I used to put them in a gunny sack (burlap bag to Yankee's) kept it about
> half full, put it in the concrete driveway and ran over it with the pickup
> a few times. If you try getting the hull off with bare hands you will be
> dyed a dark brown. I always cracked the nuts in a vise, about beat my
> hands off trying to crack them with a hammer. The vise worked better.
>
> If you put them on the driveway loose the tire passing over them will
> shoot them out like a rifle shot. Break a window or knock someone out.
> Don't ask how I know that.

my father custom built the cabinets in the house i grew up in from black
walnut, from the family farm, beautiful, all other cabinitry seems just
plain cheap in comparison, Lee
"George Shirley" > wrote in message
. com...
> On 8/29/2011 6:00 PM, gloria.p wrote:
>> On 8/29/2011 4:45 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
>>> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>>> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>>> any.
>>
>>>
>>> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
>>> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
>>> but I do now.
>>
>>
>>
>> The flavor is unique, very aromatic.
>>
>> We had an old guy in town who used to give us bushels when we lived in
>> RI as an alternative to his throwing them over the bank into the brook
>> that ran past his garden. He saw me harvesting them on the lawn of the
>> library one day and stopped to ask if we wanted more. They were a royal
>> PITA to shell.
>>
>> As I recall, they have a semi-soft outer shell, looking something like
>> a large lime. It is hard to peel unless it has dried to brown. The inner
>> brown layer STAINS everything almost permanently that touches it. (Wear
>> rubber or vinyl gloves.)
>>
>> We used to crack the outer shell with a sledge hammer or by walking over
>> the nuts in a burlap bag on the driveway, and the inner one with my
>> husband's grandfather's big workbench vise, then with an old fashioned
>> nutpick or lobster pick. They come out of the convolute shell in small
>> pieces. They stored well in the freezer, became
>> rancid fairly quickly at room temp.
>>
>> After a few years we agreed they were no longer worth the effort. Then
>> we moved.
>>
>> gloria p
>>
>> gloria p
> Yeah, but a good home-made black walnut cake is excellent. The wood is
> primarily used for making fine gun stocks. Brokered a deal with a gun
> stock maker years ago as I had a friend who wanted to sell about ten
> thousand board feet of black walnut, air dried for about three years in an
> old barn. He got a small fortune for that wood. Beautiful stuff,
> particularly if it has burl in it.

wouldn't work with these shells are too thick and it would ruin the pan, but
man are they great in german choc. cake icing
"Polly Esther" > wrote in message
...
>
> "George Shirley" > Yeah, but a good home-made black walnut cake is
> excellent. The wood is
>> primarily used for making fine gun stocks. Brokered a deal with a gun
>> stock maker years ago as I had a friend who wanted to sell about ten
>> thousand board feet of black walnut, air dried for about three years in
>> an old barn. He got a small fortune for that wood. Beautiful stuff,
>> particularly if it has burl in it.
>
> It seems like I read somewhere that blanching nuts makes them easier to
> shell. Might be worth trying if you were highly motivated. Polly

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> any.

Any? Sure. They make for a good treat. A lot of them? Probably not
unless you find an antique shelling machine to make shelling them in
quantity practical.

> It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
> mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.

That's what I remember as well. A great uncle kept a small barrel of
them at his back door. Sometimes we would have a bowl of them to crack
open as we sat chatting in his back yard. Nice for a treat, but done
that way too much work to make a meal of them.

If you really get into it folks used to make dye out of the shells.
Roast them into char or something. Bet it smelled nasty.

On Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:57:47 +0000 (UTC), Doug Freyburger
> wrote:

>Mark Thorson wrote:
>>
>> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>> any.
-snip-
>
>If you really get into it folks used to make dye out of the shells.
>Roast them into char or something. Bet it smelled nasty.

No charring necessary. Once those dark husks are free from the
nut- pour some boiling water over them and wait until it is as dark as
you like. [that's how we did it for wood stain, anyway]

Jim

On Aug 29, 7:55*pm, Dan Abel > wrote:
> In article >,
> *"Jean B." > wrote:
>
> > Speaking o' such... *I sure wish I had a walnut tree. *How,
> > otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????
>
> Steal them. *I worked with a woman, and her husband was always looking
> for green walnuts. *They would be driving around, and he'd see some, and
> insist they stop and grab a few. *Then he'd drive to Italy and buy some
> grappa, and make some kind of drink. *He sure liked that stuff!
>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Petaluma, California USA
>

That would be Nocino...long drive to Italy from Petaluma!

On 31/08/2011 3:58 AM, merryb wrote:
> On Aug 29, 7:55 pm, Dan > wrote:
>> In >,
>> "Jean > wrote:
>>
>>> Speaking o' such... I sure wish I had a walnut tree. How,
>>> otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????
>>
>> Steal them. I worked with a woman, and her husband was always looking
>> for green walnuts. They would be driving around, and he'd see some, and
>> insist they stop and grab a few. Then he'd drive to Italy and buy some
>> grappa, and make some kind of drink. He sure liked that stuff!
>>
>> --
>> Dan Abel
>> Petaluma, California USA
>>
>
> That would be Nocino...long drive to Italy from Petaluma!


Not to mention a tad wet!

--

Krypsis

Mark Thorson > wrote:

>Doug Freyburger wrote:
>>
>> Mark Thorson wrote:
>> >
>> > I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>> > I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>> > any.
>>
>> Any? Sure. They make for a good treat. A lot of them? Probably not
>> unless you find an antique shelling machine to make shelling them in
>> quantity practical.
>
>Do such machines exist? I'm up for buying antique
>food-related machinery.

I don't know about a walnut de-husker, per se-- but my cement mixer &
a shovel full of #2 stone is supposed to do the trick.

Jim

sf wrote:
>
> Why is everyone talking about cracking shells when he asked about
> getting the husks off?

How'd you get that idea? I mentioned the dehusking
technique just because I remembered hearing about it
here and thought I'd preemptively indicate I'd already
heard about it. The cracking and picking are the hard
parts, and it's been so long since I'd tasted black
walnuts I was wondering whether anybody thought it
would be worth the trouble.

"Jean B." wrote:
>
> Speaking o' such... I sure wish I had a walnut tree. How,
> otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????

Read one of Hulda Clark's books, did you?

Doug Freyburger wrote:
>
> Mark Thorson wrote:
> >
> > I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> > I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> > any.
>
> Any? Sure. They make for a good treat. A lot of them? Probably not
> unless you find an antique shelling machine to make shelling them in
> quantity practical.

Do such machines exist? I'm up for buying antique
food-related machinery.

In article
>,
merryb > wrote:

> On Aug 29, 7:55*pm, Dan Abel > wrote:
> > In article >,
> > *"Jean B." > wrote:
> >
> > > Speaking o' such... *I sure wish I had a walnut tree. *How,
> > > otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????
> >
> > Steal them. *I worked with a woman, and her husband was always looking
> > for green walnuts. *They would be driving around, and he'd see some, and
> > insist they stop and grab a few. *Then he'd drive to Italy and buy some
> > grappa, and make some kind of drink. *He sure liked that stuff!

> That would be Nocino...long drive to Italy from Petaluma!

He was born and raised in Italy, but all the relatives moved to
Switzerland. So they flew to Switzerland every year or two to visit,
and it was only a ten mile drive (and cheaper prices) to his birthplace.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

On Aug 30, 2:38*pm, Dan Abel > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
> *merryb > wrote:
> > On Aug 29, 7:55*pm, Dan Abel > wrote:
> > > In article >,
> > > *"Jean B." > wrote:
>
> > > > Speaking o' such... *I sure wish I had a walnut tree. *How,
> > > > otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????
>
> > > Steal them. *I worked with a woman, and her husband was always looking
> > > for green walnuts. *They would be driving around, and he'd see some, and
> > > insist they stop and grab a few. *Then he'd drive to Italy and buy some
> > > grappa, and make some kind of drink. *He sure liked that stuff!
> > That would be Nocino...long drive to Italy from Petaluma!
>
> He was born and raised in Italy, but all the relatives moved to
> Switzerland. *So they flew to Switzerland every year or two to visit,
> and it was only a ten mile drive (and cheaper prices) to his birthplace.
>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Petaluma, California USA
>

I just returned from Italy a few weeks ago- we were attending a
cousin's wedding near Trento. My grappa packed in my suitcase survived
the trip, along with wine, balsamico, and polenta

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Doug Freyburger wrote:
>>
>> Mark Thorson wrote:
>> >
>> > I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>> > I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>> > any.
>>
>> Any? Sure. They make for a good treat. A lot of them? Probably not
>> unless you find an antique shelling machine to make shelling them in
>> quantity practical.
>
> Do such machines exist? I'm up for buying antique
> food-related machinery.

Not an antique but guaranteed to crack macadamias, no reason why walnuts
would not succumb. http://www.bonk.co.nz/product.htm

Bloke Down The Pub wrote:
>
> "Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Doug Freyburger wrote:
> >>
> >> Mark Thorson wrote:
> >> >
> >> > I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> >> > I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> >> > any.
> >>
> >> Any? Sure. They make for a good treat. A lot of them? Probably not
> >> unless you find an antique shelling machine to make shelling them in
> >> quantity practical.
> >
> > Do such machines exist? I'm up for buying antique
> > food-related machinery.
>
> Not an antique but guaranteed to crack macadamias, no reason why walnuts
> would not succumb. http://www.bonk.co.nz/product.htm

Cracking the nut is only half the battle.
Unlike macadamias and regular walnuts,
black walnut shells hold onto their meat
like they had claws.

"Janet Bostwick" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
wrote:

>I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
>I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
>any. It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
>being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
>shell) and pick the meat from. Lots of work for a little
>mound of black walnut pieces. As I recall, they have a
>sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
>
- - - - - - - - - - -

We had a couple of black walnut trees when I was growing up. We used a
nutcracker something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Imports...6785843&sr=8-4
That was a good many years ago, so I can't speak to a real comparison, but
the one we had was very sturdy, could easily be adjusted for any type of
nut, and easily cracked every nut we tried. Of course, you would only want
to invest this amount of money if you planned to use it as good many times.

MaryL

On Aug 29, 4:16*pm, George Shirley > wrote:
> On 8/29/2011 6:00 PM, gloria.p wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 8/29/2011 4:45 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> >> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> >> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> >> any.
>
> >> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> >> and forth over them. I didn't have a car back then,
> >> but I do now.
>
> > The flavor is unique, very aromatic.
>
> > We had an old guy in town who used to give us bushels when we lived in
> > RI as an alternative to his throwing them over the bank into the brook
> > that ran past his garden. He saw me harvesting them on the lawn of the
> > library one day and stopped to ask if we wanted more. They were a royal
> > PITA to shell.
>
> > As I recall, they have a semi-soft outer shell, looking something like
> > a large lime. It is hard to peel unless it has dried to brown. The inner
> > brown layer STAINS everything almost permanently that touches it. (Wear
> > rubber or vinyl gloves.)
>
> > We used to crack the outer shell with a sledge hammer or by walking over
> > the nuts in a burlap bag on the driveway, and the inner one with my
> > husband's grandfather's big workbench vise, then with an old fashioned
> > nutpick or lobster pick. They come out of the convolute shell in small
> > pieces. They stored well in the freezer, became
> > rancid fairly quickly at room temp.
>
> > After a few years we agreed they were no longer worth the effort. Then
> > we moved.
>
> > gloria p
>
> > gloria p
>
> Yeah, but a good home-made black walnut cake is excellent. The wood is
> primarily used for making fine gun stocks. Brokered a deal with a gun
> stock maker years ago as I had a friend who wanted to sell about ten
> thousand board feet of black walnut, air dried for about three years in
> an old barn. He got a small fortune for that wood. Beautiful stuff,
> particularly if it has burl in it.

Where I live black walnut was used as the rootstock for English walnut
trees. Eventually the rootstock takes over, but the squirrels still
love the produce. Evidence: black walnut trees spring up all over the
garden. Pulling them up reveals the split huskless black walnut.

There's a black walnut two blocks away, whose trunk is almost four
feet in diameter -- I suspect this is the source.

On Aug 29, 7:17*pm, "Jean B." > wrote:
> sf wrote:
> > On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:32 -0800, Mark Thorson >
> > wrote:
>
> >> I just noticed the black walnuts have started falling.
> >> I'm wondering if I should bother harvesting and shelling
> >> any. *It's been decades since I did, and I remember them
> >> being difficult to crack (hard, thick, nearly spherical
> >> shell) and pick the meat from. *Lots of work for a little
> >> mound of black walnut pieces. *As I recall, they have a
> >> sharper, more concentrated flavor than regular walnuts.
>
> >> Somebody said you can dehusk them by driving a car back
> >> and forth over them. *I didn't have a car back then,
> >> but I do now.
>
> > My mother used to have a walnut *tree too, but it was probably the
> > other kind of walnut. *I don't remember anyone complaining about
> > husks, so it must have been easy enough to get them off.
>
> Speaking o' such... *I sure wish I had a walnut tree. *How,
> otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????

Be careful what you want. Walnut trees hate competition, and secrete
something called juglone that kills off other vegetation, although
some plants are immune.

On Aug 30, 3:05*pm, merryb > wrote:
> On Aug 30, 2:38*pm, Dan Abel > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > In article
> > >,
>
> > *merryb > wrote:
> > > On Aug 29, 7:55*pm, Dan Abel > wrote:
> > > > In article >,
> > > > *"Jean B." > wrote:
>
> > > > > Speaking o' such... *I sure wish I had a walnut tree. *How,
> > > > > otherwise, does one ever get immature walnuts?????
>
> > > > Steal them. *I worked with a woman, and her husband was always looking
> > > > for green walnuts. *They would be driving around, and he'd see some, and
> > > > insist they stop and grab a few. *Then he'd drive to Italy and buy some
> > > > grappa, and make some kind of drink. *He sure liked that stuff!
> > > That would be Nocino...long drive to Italy from Petaluma!
>
> > He was born and raised in Italy, but all the relatives moved to
> > Switzerland. *So they flew to Switzerland every year or two to visit,
> > and it was only a ten mile drive (and cheaper prices) to his birthplace..
>

> I just returned from Italy a few weeks ago- we were attending a
> cousin's wedding near Trento. My grappa packed in my suitcase survived
> the trip, along with wine, balsamico, and polenta

No speck? Sudtiroler speck kicks the ass out of prosciutto.