How to Process Walnuts – Curing, Cracking, Soaking, Storage and Maple Candied Walnuts

Last fall I got a phone call from one of my neighbors – “Would I like walnuts?” (I love my neighbors.)  It turns out that other neighbors, relatives of theirs, have two beautiful 89 year old Carpathian walnut trees in their front yard, both of which produced a bumper crop this past year.  Those trees were sent directly from the Carpathian mountain area all those years ago, at a cost of $1 each, which was big money back then.  They came with an apology note about how expensive they were.  (I heard this story from the folks who owned the trees as we picked nuts.  The farm is still in the same family, and the trees were purchased by the grandfather of the current owner.)  We were blessed with many buckets of nuts, enough to share with family and friends.

Curing Walnuts

I was instructed by the tree owners to spread the nuts out in a warm, dry, shaded place to cure for at least a month before using them. I’ve seen mixed recommendations online on how long to dry.  I suppose it depends a lot on your conditions.  The goal of drying is to reduce the moisture within the nuts to prevent mold growth.  When properly dried, the nuts inside should have a nice “snap” and not be rubbery.  At this point, the nuts should hold for up to three years in the shell in cool, dry conditions (if you don’t eat them all first).  Update:  On year later, and the nuts I cured last fall are still in great condition.  I just wish I had more of them, as I am down to about a gallon pail’s worth in the shell.

I spread my nuts out on the shelves of my greenhouse to dry.

After I got them settled, I covered them with some burlap so the sun wasn’t beating on them.  Once the mousies found my stash and I started finding empty shells, I moved them inside in my black planting trays that I use for seed starting.  Many we cracked and ate, others have gone into the canning pantry for later use.

The Best Way to Crack Walnuts

For cracking our monster nut harvest, I was lucky enough to find a great deal Reed’s Rocket Nut Cracker at the local kitchen store.  If you do any serious volume of nut cracking, you need one of these crackers.  They are not rated for the super-hard nuts like black walnuts, but for all the “standard” nuts they are amazing.  If you’ve got a smaller nut or odd sized nut, like a hazelnut, just fold a bit of dish towel and tuck it in the cracker with the nut to make sure it fits tight enough to crack.

This cracker saved so much time and so much easier to use than our old “pincer” type cracker.  I borrowed it to the neighbor who shared the nuts with us, too.  To avoid flying pieces of shell, we covered the cracker with a cloth as we cracked.  (I cut up an old, worn bath towel, which we use in place of paper towels in the kitchen.)

The nuts come out neatly, too, often in clean halves instead of bits and pieces.

It’s rather fun to use, too.

Once we had a bunch of nuts shelled, I made them into Crispy nuts ala Nourishing Traditions.

Crispy Nut Recipe

To make crispy nuts, mix together in a glass bowl:

4 cups pecans, almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, walnuts
1 T. sea salt
Enough water to cover

Stir and leave on the counter overnight, at least 7 hours.

Drain well in a colander and dehydrate at 125F for around 24 hours, depending on how crispy you like them.

Store them in the freezer to prevent rancidity.  Don’t forget to date and label them.  They will keep for months.

Storage of Walnuts

As I mentioned above, properly cured nuts in the shell kept in a cool dry place should last for at least a year or more.  The shell acts as a natural protective barrier.  Once the nuts have been shelled, because they contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fat, they go rancid quickly.  I highly recommend keeping shelled nuts in the refrigerator or freezer.  In the fridge they should keep for six months, in the freezer, safely a year.

You may be thinking at this point, “But they don’t store nuts in the refrigerator at the store.”  Once you’ve had a chance to compare the taste of freshly shelled versus pre-shelled, you’ll know that they probably should. Most stores do turn over product fairly quickly, but store not are, in general, not optimally processed and not terribly fresh.  It’s cost prohibitive.

Soaking Your Nuts

Kimi over at the Nourishing Gourmet had a great post on soaking nuts (in case you’ve gotten to the point where you’re wondering why I bothering with soaking and then dehydrating).

Why Should I Soak Nuts?

Unlike grains, nuts contain smaller amounts of phytic acid. Their real issue for us is having high amounts of enzyme inhibitors. These enzymes are useful to seeds and nuts because it prevents them from sprouting prematurely. But they can really strain your digestive system.

Soaking your nuts in warm water will neutralize these enzyme inhibitors, and also help encourage the production of beneficial enzymes. These enzymes, in turn, increase many vitamins, especially B vitamins. It also makes these nuts much easier to digest and the nutrients more easily absorbed. And, yes, this is a traditional method of preparation. For example the Aztecs would soak pumpkin or squash seeds in salty water and then, sun dry them. 1

I found that soaking and dehydrating walnuts also improves the flavor significantly, as the tannins are reduced as well.  You don’t get that bitter, “puckery” feeling in your mouth.

I know this post is already quite long, but if you find yourself with an abundance of nuts and want to make a special treat, this recipe for Candied Walnuts from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen is lovely and couldn’t be easier.  I made some up for the holidays to give as gifts.

Candied Walnuts

2 cups walnut halves
3 tablespoons maple syrup (grade B)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch or two of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place all ingredients into a baking dish (I use a 7 x 11-inch glass baking dish). Stir well with a spoon. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn.

As soon as they come out of the oven stir them up so the syrup sticks to the nuts and not the pan. Immediately transfer them to a plate to cool.

Now those of you who are friends with me on Facebook know why I’ve been soaking my nuts so often these past few months.