Just about every fall, I collect a few black walnuts. I happen to like the strong tasting nut meat that comes out of their very hard shells.

You’ve probably seen black walnuts laying along the edge of a forest. They are green, fist-sized nuts when they first fall to the ground, slowing turning black as the husk decomposes.

Most people confuse the English walnut, a favorite of mine around Christmas with the black walnut. English walnuts can be cracked open with a small nut cracker and have a mild taste that many enjoy. On the other hand, the Black Walnut’s strong flavor is a unique, acquired taste and have incredibly hard shells.

The process of getting the black walnut meat out of its shell is a long and difficult task. The green husk is pretty soft but contains a strong and permanent dye. I usually wear old shoes and stomp on the husk to get to the shell, a messy job. Then with gloves, I put the nut in an old bucket to take home. Unfortunately, this year, the thumb of my glove apparently had a small leak turning this gardener’s thumb black for the next few weeks.

My friend, John, has a power washer. This year, I did a little extra cleaning to remove more of the nasty husk. The nuts are very clean but they’ll need about a month of drying before the nut meat can be harvested.

Once the nuts are dry, I’ll crack them open using an industrial sized nut cracker. Some people use a hammer but I got tired of smashing my fingers.

After cracking open the nut, I pick through the debris and collect the nut meat. It’s a slow process but the strong tasting walnut is well worth it. As mentioned in an earlier post, Harvest at the Hill 2019, I dropped off some black walnuts to Kurt Krol, the head brewer of Manor Hill. I hope he can add the unique taste of these native nuts to a pin of a porter or stout. When I warned him about how hard the shell was, he just said, “We have tools”, and assured me it would not be a problem.

While waiting for the nuts to dry, I think I’ll have a Manor Hill beer. Drinking one of their well-made Pilsners, crisp, well-balanced and malty sweet, is a nice way to spend an evening. If I have one of these a week, when I finish my 6-pack, the black walnuts will be ready to crack.

Cheers!

Warren