I don't know why people say winter is a time to slow down. On this Homestead we seem to be just as busy as the rest of the year. I may just need to write a letter to labor relations on that, I want my slow time. But I finally got a moment to get around to cracking the black walnuts that we hulled this last fall.
My old method of cracking the nuts just wasn't cutting it, or should I say cracking it. So it was time for a more specialized approach to busting the nuts. This is a nut cracker made just for hard nuts, like black walnuts. And just so I can say that physics was not a wasted course on me , the length of the handle gives you a great fulcrum for nut smashing
Once you figure out where it is best to apply pressure and how much pressure to apply, it goes quite smoothly. Although I still managed to get nut shrapnel flying all over the kitchen. This would be best suited to be an outside job.
The irony of the whole job was that most of the nuts that I painstakingly hulled contained very dry nut meats when cracked. I assume I waited a little to long to open them. But the mystery nuts that had been hulled and hidden by the squirrel that I acquisitioned on the 'finders keepers' homestead law (you can read the story
here), were beautiful!! Perfect specimens of nut meatiness.
So the lessons learned here are that it is not good to sit on your nuts too long or they dry up. And it is time to even the score with the thieving squirrels and raid all their stash sites. Those furry guys really know what they are doing!
Jane, are you trying to scar your male readership for life ( or at least for today)? I barely made it through this post. In 20 short lines you ( somehow ) managed to insert 6 phrases that make us cringe and curl up in the fetal position; nut buster, cracking the nuts, busting the nuts, nut smashing, nut shrapnel
ReplyDelete(about passed out on that one) and sit on your nuts! In the future, please try to have the foresite and compassion to not upset our (at times)delicate sensibilities.
OMG you got a funny commentator above me,never thought about nuts like that oh well",sometimes yo feel like a nut ,sometimes you don't." Oh,and don't get too high from them thar nuts ,according to the FDA ,they are a "drug" but I'm sure you saw that on the health sleuth blogger posting.
ReplyDeleteYou had me laughing all through this post, Jane. As usual, another learning experience for us to absorb from you.
ReplyDeleteI just hate nut shrapnel flying all over my kitchen, too. ;o}
Too funny. But I do love those nut busters. My sister gave me one a few years ago- designed for pecans- so it isn't quite up to snuff for black walnuts but still fun to use.
ReplyDeleteJudy
you'd be nuts to raid the squirrel's stash - those guys can be vicious i hear! they're cute too. though not when they're stealing your crops or destroying your attic, of course.
ReplyDeleteSpiderjohn, so sorry to cause you any cringing. I will try to be more considerate in the future ;)
ReplyDeleteJudy, I mostly feel like a nut. Yep, I am a nut
Mama Pea, no joke, those nut shards really can fly!
Judy, I do like it much better than the traditional crackers. Less work
Kelli, I once knew someone who had a squirrel in their kitchen and he opened all the cabinets and ate her food. What a stinker.
nice nutcracker
ReplyDeletehttps://emilysincerely.wordpress.com
We have lots of black walnut trees on our farm, and I have toyed with collecting, drying and shelling the nuts....boy it is really labor intensive, though. Our nuts are relatively small....much more shell than meat. Oh, how I remember my Nana's black walnut cake when I was a wee girl!! and the sight of nuts drying in her cellar, too.
ReplyDeleteEmily, thanks
ReplyDeleteBeverly, well I guess it is as they say, nothing worth doing is ever easy ;) Considering it is becoming hard to get American grown nuts that are not radiated, it is worth the effort.
Where did you get that *** buster anyway. We have several black walnut trees behind our house that we might like to harvest too. Or maybe we should just save a little time and find the squirrel stashes!
ReplyDeleteJody, I got the nutcracker at the Amish area over the boarder in Ohio. I have seen them everywhere from Amazon to Homesteading supply places. Black walnuts are a lot of work, but very tasty and healthy. You should try some next year.
ReplyDelete