Nut Trees Provide Wintertime Staples for the Table

By Connie Moore
Published on October 4, 2012
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Pecans collected from a tree sit in a cooking pot waiting to be eaten.
Pecans collected from a tree sit in a cooking pot waiting to be eaten.
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Look to the Trees for Hard-Shell Delicacies.
Look to the Trees for Hard-Shell Delicacies.
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A walnut breaks through its husk while still on the tree.
A walnut breaks through its husk while still on the tree.
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Walnut meats added to salads and desserts give a whole new flavor.
Walnut meats added to salads and desserts give a whole new flavor.
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Pecans are delicious as a snack or as part of a dessert.
Pecans are delicious as a snack or as part of a dessert.
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Chocolate-walnut muffins make a great snack any time of the day.
Chocolate-walnut muffins make a great snack any time of the day.

If you’re looking for a delicious, nutrition-packed natural food, crack a smile while you enjoy the new crop of hard-shelled fruits this autumn. During November and December, a lot of families put out the traditional holiday bowl of nuts and fancy nutcrackers as part of their home decorations. And as the holiday baking season approaches, a variety of nuts appear on store shelves — the most popular being walnuts and pecans.

But before those cold winter months even get here, why not be adventurous? A few autumn walks with the entire family can produce stronger family ties, essential communication, exercise, and a fall bounty from walnut and pecan trees letting go of their precious delicacies. Harvest nut trees for baking, snacking, decorations and more. Processing them is really pretty simple. Hulling, shelling and storing our native black walnuts and pecans may seem like an old-fashioned way of taking advantage of Mother Nature’s bounty, but it is economical and fun. Just be sure you get to them before the squirrels!

Family history

The walnut family (Juglans species) includes butternuts, English walnuts and native black walnuts. Wild trees can be found in many parts of North America, and their fruit is a hard-shelled nut encased in a fibrous layer called a husk or hull.

While plantation or cultivated walnut trees are often severely pruned in order for strong trunk growth, wild trees can grow to more than 100 feet tall. Black walnut trees grow quickly in warm areas with rich soil and adequate water supply. Most English walnuts are grown commercially, with more than half the world’s supply coming from groves in California.

Pecans are classified in the genus Carya, which also includes shellbark and shagbark hickory. Wild pecan trees can grow to more than 70 feet in height and produce small nutmeats in hard shells. Commercially grown trees yield the large, thin-shelled nuts we are used to eating. The wild pecan trees you’ll encounter in rural America are more likely to be smaller with a thicker shell, but, with patience, shelling enough for home use is definitely doable.

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