# preserving fresh black walnuts ...



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

David is now using the new black walnut cracker we ordered. It is working great; so now I am needing to know how to preserve the meats.

I remember my grandmother freezing fresh pecans and they tasted differently when taken out of the freezer. Seems one of my aunts suggested she blanch them for 3 minutes before freezing; but I don't remember her doing so.

I believe there was a thread somewhere in these forums speaking to preserving black walnuts and will do a search for it. If anyone knows where it is, I would appreciate knowing. If anyone knows how to preserve fresh-shelled black walnuts, I would appreciate knowing that too.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

We just put ours in the freezer in plastic bags, they taste just fine. > Marc


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## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

We vacuum pack ours with a Foodsaver and then freeze. Have some 5 years old that still are good.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Marc and Arrocks, were those shelled first? Dried first (shelled and/or unshelled)?


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

we allow them to dry in shell , then shell them and put them in the freezer in bags. We also have some that will be in there for several years now and are just fine. > Marc


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Well, I guess I'm dense! I am trying to find out how long to let them dry "in the shell". We de-husked them about 6-8 weeks ago and they have been hanging in netting with plenty of air flow all that time.

We received some black walnuts with the cracker we purchased and they were quite a bit drier than ours. We figured they were just old as they did not taste as fresh or as good as ours.

We dried some (incracked and, of course, unshelled...yes they were de-husked) in the oven for about 6 hrs and they taste "cooked".

Our cracker is heavy duty and does a very nice job cracking these black walnuts; however, we still cannot figure out how to crack them in a way that permits us to get "large" pieces out. Is that simply the nature of the black walnut beast? Or is it because we have not dried them properly?


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## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

It is the "nature of the beast" with black walnuts. Look at a package of black walnut meats in the store sometime. There may be a few pieces that are 1/2" long, but most will be bits and small pieces.

Best method of drying I know is to crack the nuts, spread out on a window screen or screen door in a cool, dry place with good air circulation.


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## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

How long to dry in shell all depends on how you are doing it and the weather. If you have a warm heated basement and can spread them out in single layer - a month. Dry storage but cool, 3 months. Cracked and shelled and just drying the meats in a dehydrator - 24 hours.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

We de-husked and shelled our black walnuts. Then we placed them in a shallow pan in the oven set very low for over 24 hrs. They are still not dry and they taste burned! We won't be doing that again!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

When frozen in plastic they pick up a funny taste. I store mine in canning jars in the freezer. Since they have little moisture they won't swell and break the jar.

Try a few before toasting them. If you like the flavor just pop them in the freezer in canning jars. They will keep for several years when stored that way.


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