# turning black walnuts into butter ...



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

What machine do I need to do this?

David cleaned over 400 lbs of black walnuts; now we have many of them shelled. I'ld like to preserve them by turning them into butter. Has anyone done this; if so, what machine did you use? Did you have to add anything to them?


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

I have no ideas, but I'd like to try some of the finished product.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I have a small food processor, I toast the walnuts in the oven, put them in the bowl of the processor and grind until it binds together, I add some honey and a little cinnamon to taste. Some people use walnut or vegetable oil and salt. I like chunky butters, not creamy. If you like creamy you need to add oil....James


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

The only "food processor" I have is a small "OSKAR" put out by Sunbeam. Will this do he job?

James, when you say "toast the walnuts in the oven", can you explain that? I am thinking you mean spread them out flat as possible and turn on the "broil" (overhead) burner...for how long I have no idea.

These walnuts have oil in them. That is why we have not considered drying them. I like chunky too; but David prefers creamy. We don't need the salt; however, I have both coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil if either of those would work.

Sure glad you folks are here and willing to help. Thanks


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Mine is the original Oscar, small but works well. I like to make small batches for freshness. Makes very rich butter. Creamy just needs more time and more oil. Yes I dry the nuts first in the fall to keep them from being bitter, then crack during the winter as needed. I put on a cookie sheet and roast on bake at 325 or so, I like slower and longer. Just until they get warm and a little crunchy. Right into the processor warm, a little honey to hold together and sweetens a little. I don't use any oils here, only butter. Sometimes I will roast the nuts in a little butter for a change. Almost tastes like praline with added honey, great in apple cinnamon rolls....James


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

James you said, "...I don't use any oils here, only butter..." 

Are you saying you add butter in with the black walnuts as you are processing them in your Oscar? If so, how much butter?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

400 pounds, wow. 

How long will the butter keep for and does it need to be processed?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

No, I don't have or use oil so I don't add any. Hense why I make crunchy. Creamy needs oil. I add butter to roast nuts sometimes. I don't keep it long, I like it fresh, 2 weeks maybe. It can and will go rancid....James


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Clarity...400 lbs of "unshelled" black walnuts! ROFL

Can it be frozen?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

400 pounds of unshelled? OMG where did he get all of those?


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## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

motdaugrnds said:


> David cleaned over 400 lbs of black walnuts;


My question is what kind of machine is "David".....lol :hysterical:


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

ROFL Yes at least 400 lbs when gathered off the ground. We have a black walnut grove and can collect this many every other year. Last fall was the first time we had actually had the time to get them. David carried a feed sack with him each day he walked up to the mailbox and brought that feed sack back to the house filled with green walnuts. 

David then threw most of those walnuts up on our sheet metal roofs to dry. The other green ones, he washed well; then he took a sharp knife and cut off the green shells for black walnut extract, which has good medicinal properties. The others stayed up on the roofs for quite awhile (I forget just how long). Then he brought them in and turned our kitchen into a black mess cleaning them! (It is clean now; but for awhile .... grrrrrrr) [David decided he was tired of having black hands; so he invested in a pair of strong rubber gloves as well as a strong brush.]

David then cleaned the dried bark off every single shell! I took over after that, placing the cleaned walnuts onto a wire screen so the shells could dry well; then storing them in mesh bags that continued the flow of air.

Now I have just turned two batches of these "shelled" black walnuts into walnut butter. 

One batch I baked in the oven at 350 hoping they would get a little crisp. They didn't! They started turning dark instead. (Guess it is all the natural oil in them, though not sure.) I took those out and blended them in my little OSKAR with a little honey and olive oil. This batch has a slight burned taste to it that David doesn't care for. I still like it!

The other batch I did not bake at all. I just placed them in the OSKAR with a little raw honey and extra virgin olive oil and blended them well. David likes this batch and I do too.

We still have a large bag and a half bag to shell; but I'm going to wait until this walnut butter I just made is gone before I start cracking them. I am guessing they will store better longer in their original shells.

Now I am looking for ways to use this black walnut butter. I know it would go well with bananas. I know it would go well with ice cream and in muffins/cakes. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.


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## RedHeadedTricia (Jun 20, 2006)

it would be interesting to see how it would taste with pancakes, waffles, scones and in cookies... on homemade breads..... i guess anyway that you could use regular butter. 

I know there are lots of black walnut trees around here, i would be interested on how this works out for you. Maybe I can learn to do the same with some this next year.

RHTricia


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Here's an article by the renowned Jackie Clay with some info about black walnuts. Note her instructions for toasting them on very low heat. 

*"Preparing black walnuts*Could you tell me a little more about how to prepare, including cracking open and eating black walnuts? 

Matt Leonard 

[email protected] 

Black walnuts are one of my favorite nuts. There is nothing to compare to their sweet, unique flavor. A little goes a long way in baked goods. They are totally easy to harvest. Just find a black walnut tree and look for the round green balls underneath in the late fall. As time passes, these green balls (the husks) turn brown, then black. Now these husks will stain your hands so that no amount of washing will get them clean. I know, because as a child I spent lots of time husking them by hand, then trying to explain how my hands got so black. 

An easier way, by far, is to simply gather them with gloves on, then pour them out in your driveway. After a few days of driving back and forth on them, the husks will be all off, leaving the dark, naked nuts lying there for you to pick up. (Iâd suggest letting them dry a few days, as they will still stain your hands if they are damp. 

We used to just crack them by standing them on end on a piece of iron and tapping them with a hammer. They would crack open, but you still had to dig out most of the meats by a nut pick and perspiration. We did always have plenty of nut meats for baking, however. 

An easier way is to use a hydraulic nutcracker, as advertised in many gardening catalogs. They have a long lever and work by pressure. This pops the nut apart much nicer, resulting in larger chunks of nut meat and not so much perspiration. 

Black walnuts can be used fresh in many recipes calling for nuts. A few of our favorites are cookies, bars, cakes, and fruitcake. 

Any extra nut meats can either be frozen in an airtight jar or canned, if you have enough to make it feasible. I would only can in half pint or smaller jars, as you donât want any of these precious treats to go rancid. To can them, simply spread them out on a cookie tin and place in the oven to toast on very low heat. Stir occasionally until dry but not browned. Keep hot for packing into sterilized hot, dry canning jars. Fill jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headroom. Place hot, previously boiled, dry lid on jar and screw down lid firmly tight. Pressure can for 10 minutes at 5 pounds pressure. Or you may water bath process them in boiling water well below the top of the jars for 20 minutes. 

Jackie "


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

mott, if you and dave are interested, save all those dry brown hulls from the walnut, you can make stain from them. Crush and add them to boiling water to make a water based stain, or warm up some linseed oil and add the powdered hulls to the oil, to make oil based stain.

I would think that they would store much longer if kept in a dry dark place in there original shells. Then break them open when you want to make a fresh batch of butter.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

CB that is a great idea. I could use that stain with the linseed oil I rub into the handles of our gardening tools. Since walnut is such a nice hard wood, I am thinking it just might extend the life of these handles. 

My wheel barrow handles are in terrible shape. It had to be left out in the weather for awhile and I stupidly turned it onto its sides or completely over to keep the goats from standing in it and turning it over onto one of the little ones.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

We have so many blackwalnut trees here that finding 400 lbs of nuts would be no problem. This was a job my Father use to do to keep occupied during the winter. We would run the green shucks threw a old hand corn sheller to get them off(works great). He just used a hammer to open them, we then would store them in the freezer for future use. They store well in the freezer, and will last a long time. > Thanks Marc


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## my3boys (Jan 18, 2011)

I agree with freezing them. I use the heavy ziploc large or gallon freezer bags and squeeze all the air out if it when I initially freeze them and anytime I take some out. I chop some walnuts before I freeze them so they are ready to go for recipes, and I freeze some in halves for salads, desserts, snack mixes, etc. that call for unchopped.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I have used the black walnut butter on top of pancakes. It needed to be warmed so as to spread well; but it was delicious.

This goes well on top of grahm crackers too! Yummmmmy


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

motdaugrnds said:


> CB that is a great idea. I could use that stain with the linseed oil I rub into the handles of our gardening tools. Since walnut is such a nice hard wood, I am thinking it just might extend the life of these handles.
> 
> My wheel barrow handles are in terrible shape. It had to be left out in the weather for awhile and I stupidly turned it onto its sides or completely over to keep the goats from standing in it and turning it over onto one of the little ones.


hydrating the wood with linseed oil will definately preserve and improve the health of your handles. My first shovel was one I found in the garbage that was all beat up. I trimmed the tip of the blade with tin snips and hydrated the handle back to life. Love that shovel now. Keep adding linseed until the wood will not take it anymore, then let it rest and come back and try to add some more. When the wood will not suck in the oil anymore, then you are done, until you need another coat sometime down the road.

The walnut hull preserving the wood is actually a good idea and I think you might have something there.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

motdaugrnds said:


> I have used the black walnut butter on top of pancakes. It needed to be warmed so as to spread well; but it was delicious.
> 
> This goes well on top of grahm crackers too! Yummmmmy


oh man, now i am hungry.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Just added some to a cup of coffee. Wow what a very different...but nice...taste!


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

making me hungry again


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Maybe use some of the nuts to make brittle. I am thinking a big scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with warm walnut butter and crushed up walnut brittle for a little crunch. Ok, now I am hungry, going to get some pecans out of the freezer for a snack


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## Welshmom (Sep 7, 2008)

If your local laws allow, I bet you could sell some frozen nut meats or canned walnut butter for a fair good price...


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

your best off hulling first off, then shelling as needed. their a living thing after all. 
store in a cool moderate environment. not too dry and not to moist. 

just my two cents.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Yeah, Downhome, I still have 2 large net bags full of hulled/washed/dried black walnuts. will wait until this butter is gone before shelling them.


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