WineLovers Discussion Group

Break out your cookie recipies, Guys...they're busily shakin' the walnuts again in my Neck o'the Woods.


Diamond is located in my town, but the locals sell them by the bag full.

What....no walnut lovers out there?





sheesh

My wife's a big fan - she uses them for baking. For me, the walnut harvest happened around the middle of June when I got my green walnuts for making nocino. You quarter the green walnuts and soak them in vodka along with some spices, lemon zest, etc. out in the sun for about 3 months. Then sweeten, strain, bottle, and age until Christmas. Very nice stuff - my production has been ramping up exponentially over the last few years as my wife really likes to give it out as gifts.


Mike

Cool.


We take shelled walnuts, wash them off, toss in a bowl with a mix of sugar and cinnamon then place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 30-45 minutes @ 250 degrees.


A delightful treat on a crisp winter's day

Sounds very yummy - I'll have to give that a try!

Mike

Hi Tim!
Here in Stockholm, Sweden, we are just on the northen limit for growing walnuts, but we do in fact have a tree in the garden of my work at the lab where I work at the university. Yesterday I took a look at the tree and the the outer green shell of the nuts is beginning to crack, which is the first sign that harvest is approaching. They still will need a few weeks before they are ready. We have had a warm September, and I hope the ripening will continue to go well. The nuts are smaller than the ones we buy from abroad, but they really have an exquisite taste.
Cheers, Anders

Anders Källberg wrote:Hi Tim!
Here in Stockholm, Sweden, we are just on the northen limit for growing walnuts, but we do in fact have a tree in the garden of my work at a lag at the university. Yesterday I took a look at the tree and the the outer green shell of the nuts is beginning to crack, which is the first sign that harvest is approaching. They still will need a few weeks before they are ready. We have had a warm September, and I hope the ripening will continue to go well. The nuts are smaller than the ones we buy from abroad, but they really have an exquisite taste.
Cheers, Anders

Well, I just learned something...I wasn't aware walnuts were grown that far to the North. Thanks, Anders

Around where I live the you can see/hear the walnut shakers all over the city and county as they rattle the trees.

[img]http://www.shakermaker.com/images/omcmain.jpg[/img]


The bad news is the air is full of dust, but this too shall pass.

If I am not mistaken this is the way they harvest cherries in the cherry capital of the USA if not the world. Traverse City Michigan! (some pretty good wines made there too....some from cherries.)

You are so fortunate !!! I love cooking with walnuts - savory and sweet - pasta sauce, dipping sauce for vegetables, baked in a cheese souffle, walnut pie etc......I always hesitate because there is nothing worse than a less than fresh nut. A rancid nut will make me sick for days . So....I will have to wait until my English walnut and Carpathian walnut trees begin to bear and fantasize in the meantime.

Walnuts are indeed, one of the world's great nuts. Christina, what's a Carpathian walnut?

TimMc wrote:What....no walnut lovers out there?

I like them in Waldorf Salad with Cortland apples, but that's about it. Now, pecans .....

Carpathian english walnut - just a variety that is hardy in my zone - one which produces a year or two earlier than other varieties

Hi again!
In fact my walnut harvest began today. I noticed half an empty walnut shell lying on the ground and went to check the tree. There I found several empty green shells on the tree, so I realized that the birds are getting the nuts before me. Also the greeen shells have started to crack a little, which seems to be a sign of ripeness. So I picked some of them and indeed the green shells could quite easily be removed, which I also believe is a sign that they could be picked now. I have only harvested the nuts for three years, so my experience with it is limited and I'm learning by trial and error. Any further information is welcome.

Regarding the birds, last year I did in fact see a bird dropping a walnut from a considerable hight on the ground to crack it open. Amazing how they have been able to figure out this method, in particular since there are very few walnut trees in this part of the world.

Cheers, Anders

Anders Källberg wrote:Regarding the birds, last year I did in fact see a bird dropping a walnut from a considerable hight on the ground to crack it open. Amazing how they have been able to figure out this method, in particular since there are very few walnut trees in this part of the world.

Cheers, Anders

The crows in my area are really quite deft at this procedure. In fact, since we live only a couple blocks away from several walnut orchards, I have observed with amazement how they will drop a walnut in front of a passing car apparently hoping the tire will crush the shell. No kidding.

Sometimes, however, it can be a bit noisy when the birds drop the walnuts on our home's roof. You will wake up to the sound of a bang....then roll, roll, roll. It can be really quite comical at times

Christina Georgina wrote:You are so fortunate !!! I love cooking with walnuts - savory and sweet - pasta sauce, dipping sauce for vegetables, baked in a cheese souffle, walnut pie etc......I always hesitate because there is nothing worse than a less than fresh nut. A rancid nut will make me sick for days . So....I will have to wait until my English walnut and Carpathian walnut trees begin to bear and fantasize in the meantime.

If you have a recipe for walnut pie, I will be forever in your debt

The reason I ask this is on the Favorite Pie thread somebody mentioned a Maple Walnut pie.

I have got to try some of that.

Tim, do you have a URL where one could order a bag of the walnuts?

Bob Henrick wrote:Tim, do you have a URL where one could order a bag of the walnuts?

Actually, no.

I'm not in the walnut biz...just a lover of the delicacy

Bob Henrick wrote:Tim, do you have a URL where one could order a bag of the walnuts?

Bob - These wouldn't be from Tim's part of the state, but you could give them a try if you want.

Mount Lassen Farms


Mike

The California Walnut Board website is a great resource with some interesting recipes, history, lots more.

Thanks for starting this thread, Tim. We've been focusing on almonds for awhile, but Janet and I both like walnuts better. And it looks like they may be healthier than other nuts.

Regards, Bob

Mike Filigenzi (Sacto) wrote:Bob - These wouldn't be from Tim's part of the state, but you could give them a try if you want.

Mount Lassen Farms
Mike

Thanks for the info Mike, As far as I could see, I woul d have to order 25lbs to get them, I would never in my short time left be able to use 25lbs of shelled walnuts. Maybe I willl get some black walnut meats this fall though. Have you ever had black walnut?

I finally found a recipe for honey walnut pie:

Honey-Walnut Pie

Servings: 8

Ingredients:
pastry for 9" one-crust pie, (see
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pastry. Beat remaining ingredients except walnuts with hand beater in medium bowl. Stir in walnuts. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate. Cover edge with 2" strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 45-55 minutes or until set. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. Immediately refrigerate any remaining pie.

I'll let you how it went....

Thanks for the recipe, Tim. I might cut back on the sugars a bit when I try it, but this looks like a very good alternative to our favorite pecan pie.

The Walnut Board seems to have some good data supporting the superior health benefits of walnuts over other nuts.

Regards, Bob

I understand about the sugars....I need to cut back in that area myself.

But it seems like an interesting recipe to try relative to pecan pie.


So...we will see how it goes.