Making walnut cracking easier

If you grow walnuts in your yard and you manage to collect them at the ideal time, that is when they break out of their green pericarps, then you probably do not need our advice. But if you get some really tough ones and you are trying to get the nuts out of their pericarps with a hammer or bar of some kind, then our advice may come in handy.

How to get the green stuff out? It is easier than you think

If you do not want to bother with it too much, simply pour them into a large plastic bag, tie it well, store it in your cellar for example, and pick it up in five days. Now empty the bag onto a clean sheet and rub them with your foot few times. Just do not put them into the plastic bag after rain because they may get infested with mildew!

When at home, just pour hot water over them and wait for about ten minutes. Then use a sharp knife and you should be able to remove pericarps easily, or try drying walnuts in your oven. Heat the oven to 200°C, place the nuts onto a tray covered with a baking paper and put them inside the oven for 15 minutes. Once they cool down, just rub them between your fingers and the green stuff should come off easily. Just watch the heating time carefully so you do not burn them!

Photo: Pixabay

Hot water will also help you with the cracking

This method is also successfully used for almonds or Brazil nuts, which are stuck in their shells even more than walnuts. Put nuts in a pot and pour hot water over them, cover with a lid and let them soak for 20 minutes. Drain and let them cool and start cracking immediately.

If you are concerned about the “heat shock”, then pour cold water over them and bring the pot to boiling and let it cool. Sold water works well on certain types of nuts. A spoonful of salt per litre of cold water should be enough. Let the nuts soak in the salty water for about 20 minutes and then crack them. Use a nutcracker of course because it is designed for this purpose. Try inserting the nuts vertically. Nevertheless, some of us would not use anything else but the good old-fashioned tongue-and-groove pliers, right? So what do you prefer?

Photo: Pixabay