They are very good used in baking. They have a different flavor from a more
common walnut. Very hard to get the meat out of the shells.

The nuts fall off the tree when they are ready to harvest.
You can pick them up from under a mature tree and fill buckets with them.
The outer shells are hard to get off. Some lay them in a low place in a
dirt road and drive over them several times to get the "husks" off. Others
will break them off with their hands (staining their skin). I picked up
three buckets full, and husked one of them by hand when they were green and
starting to rot off (too wet in the bucket). The others turned black and
got harder. Sometimes if they stay wet too long and the weather is warm, a
bunch of maggots will get started in them and help you get the nuts out of
the husks. I like the driving over them idea better.

Once the husks are off, it is best to let them dry out and then put them
into a cardboard box and bring them inside to dry inside the nut. This will
take a couple of months. This will allow the nut meat to shrink, and make
it easier to get out of the shell. During the entire operation, you must
protect them from squirrels. They can smell them several meters away.

To open the shell, hold the nut with the pointed end down and hit it with a
hammer. Otherwise get something that will allow you to apply pressure and
squeeze them until they break open. I have bought nutcrackers that use a
handle driven piston method to do this, but the best one I have seen was a
home made one that works the same way, only bigger and applies more pressure
on the nut with less pressure on the handle. The pistons are adjustable to
the size of the nut you are opening.

And now you know why not many people mess with black walnuts. Personally I
pick them up to feed the squirrels. A squirrel will cut off the husk in
about 1 minute, and have eaten in another minute. Some times they will bury
them and forget where. Then you have a black walnut tree coming up. Black
walnut wood is very valuable in furniture making, and if you owned several
hundred trees, you could sell them and retire.

My aunt has several recipes for using them in baking. I would be happy to
call her and get some from her for you if you want, but mostly they are used
in cakes, cookies, or sprinkled on the frosting in top of a cake.

Have fun. Dwayne






"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Alan Holmes see sig for reply address wrote:

"td" wrote in message
...
Hi urg!

I wonder if anyone can help.

I am looking to obtain the fruits of a Black walnut tree.

What is a black walnut?

Juglans nigra, native of the eastern USA and grown as an ornamental
in the UK since the 17th century. Fairly common in arboretums and
the older (large) gardens.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679