Walnut harvest is from September to November in California. Last week, I was invited by the California Walnut Commission to see the walnut harvest at a farm near Gustine, CA. We visited a walnut farmer and saw the process of harvesting the walnuts and preparing them for consumption, and then we visited a processing plant where we saw the walnuts sorted, cracked, and packaged. I got to eat many different dishes that incorporated walnuts in them and learned many walnut facts!
According to Frank Rebelo at Rebelo Orchards, 99% of walnuts in the US come from California. Walnuts originated in Persia, and are the oldest known tree food, dating back to 7000 BC. They were brought to California in the 1700's by Franciscan monks. Walnut trees can produce for up to 35 years. Walnuts are perishable; once the shell is cracked, they should be eaten immediately or the oils go rancid. Uncracked walnuts can keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool, dry place. Cracked walnuts should be kept in an air-tight container or in the freezer.
Ron Martella at the Grower Direct Nut Company said that this year's walnut harvest has been 400,000 tons so far! Here's a really neat video showing the tree-shaking machine that harvests the walnuts:
Walnuts have the most alpha-linolenic acid content of any nut by a wide margin. Dr. Michael Roizen recommends eating 12 walnut halves per day in order to cut your heart disease risk in half.
How do you like your walnuts? I love them candied and tossed in a salad with some blue cheese, pureed with pumpkin in ravioli, and in muhammara, a delicious red pepper and walnut dip.
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(Images: Kathryn Hill)
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There are walnut trees throughout our neighbourhood, but fortunately, not in our garden as our daughter is allergic. The day we moved in though, we panicked, because we spent 2 hours walking though the garden picking up walnuts shells... We finally caught the culprits -- crows! The local crows grab the nuts, and then drop them on our roof in order to open them. The crows a few streets over drop them in the road, and have traffic crush the shells.
mschateline, can she not touch them or is she young enough that you worry about her ingesting them?
just don't peel them with bare hands! I remember always having dark palms and fingers afterwards and it takes a lot to get rid of the stains, they stick :)
I was just at my parent's home in KY last weekend and saw a bunch of people harvesting them on the sides of roads into their pickup truck beds. People there, often that need some extra income, pick them during the season and sell them in 10 lb. quantities to vendors/middlemen. We used to pick our own when I was young, but the staining and hassle (coupled with no more trees around where I live now) keep us from doing it.
There's a walnut huller running down the street from me right now! People with trees load them up, sometimes a whole pickup truck bed full, and then take them to be hulled and sold. There was a pretty good line (2 blocks?) of cars waiting there earlier today. Just pounds and pounds bagged and stacked, waiting to be carried away.
And apparently, so says my Dad, that black walnut hull stuff makes a nice wood stain. (Not food, I know...)
I think you all are talking about the black walnuts (found usually in the midwest). These look to me like English walnuts (the more common walnut) which are mainly harvested in California.
Great photography and post, Kathryn!
I love walnuts in baklava, and am looking forward to making the first one of the season in a couple of weeks.
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That's right, sfbirdie. I do mean black walnuts, as opposed to the English type pictured. Of course I'm biased, but I really do like black walnuts much, much better.
Kathryn -- at the time we worried that she would accidentally get nut meat on her toys when playing in the garden (and ingest that way), but now that she is 3 years older, we don't worry. Thankfully, we don't have an actual tree ourselves. And we think her allergy may be abating over time (fingers crossed).
I love the first picture, beautiful.