ISO: Black Walnut Recipes

My maternal grandmother was an excellent cook and a wonderful baker. Many of her holiday specialties included black walnuts that she and my grandpa hulled themselves. I remember stories of them sitting at a card table lined with newspaper, wearing cotton work gloves, using a hammer and pick to get all the delicious nutmeats out of those stain-making shells.

My two brothers, my sister and me with my Grandpa and Grandma Spohn, 1966

When I figured out that we had a black walnut tree in our backyard, I was pretty excited - but mostly because I was thinking about all of the great woodworking projects my daddy has made over the years. His family land in Saline County is a great place to harvest a black walnut tree (especially when it's in the way of some corn or beans that need to be planted.)

So here we are, seven years into our noTTafarm adventure, and our black walnut tree is going nuts - literally. Scott noticed the limbs were sagging, and a few weeks ago, the nuts started to rain down with deep thuds. He's spent quite a few hours raking and gathering the walnuts so I'm thinking this is the year to process a few. Let's see if the baking-with-walnuts gene was passed along.

 Scott raked the leaves and walnuts into a neat row.

I don't know much but I do know that the green outer layer of the walnut needs to dry before being rubbed off to reveal the hard shell. And, if you don't wear gloves, your hands will be stained. I'll have to do some research on the best techniques!  

My Nutty noTTafarmer

So far, Scott has filled two five-gallon buckets, a ten-gallon trash can, and about a third of the wagon but many more walnuts are on the ground and attached to the tree. This ought to keep me occupied for a few months. Be sure to send your favorite black walnut recipes my way, just in case I'm successful.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!