OMG, Hickory Nuts!

[Barkslip]

Jesse,

Some of those nuts in your photo are ‘Selbher’ shellbark hickory.

Here are true Selbher:

Notice the “pig tail” at the bottom of the nut? Of the six you show, would you show me the far left one on your photo, please?

Dax

[JesseS]

I think this is that one…the nuts you show seem ‘smoother’

[JesseS]

A few others, Mockernut I think?

[Barkslip]

Thanks, Jesse. Different nut than ‘Selbher’. Not sure what you have last photo. Maybe @Lucky_P can help.

Here are typical mockernut hickory native here:

Dax

[JesseS]

Maybe they came from a carya senisis, aka Chinese beaked hickory.

[Lucky_P]

Nut shape is quite variable within a species. Even within shagbark & shellbark, there’s a wide range of sizes and shapes.
Those certainly could be mockernut… I see both round and elongate ova mockernut nuts from trees on our farm. Haven’t noticed ‘beaked’ nuts, like yours, but they’re not outside the realm.

[Matt_in_Maryland]

Just made myself some steel-cut oatmeal with dark brown sugar and wild hickory nuts from my property.

WOW !!!

Absolutely world-class delicious! Best part of the porridge was the wild-foraged hickory nuts. Rich buttery pecan-like taste!

I remember back in September, I was trying to bake/crack/eat these. At that point, they still had not fully dried, and were a major hassle. The nutmeats were still plump, damp, and almost impossible to dislodge from inside the labyrinthine innards.

Now, they crack like a dream. Not only did I routinely get whole quarters… I got my first fully intact half a nut. It seems they really need to sit around and cure for two whole months. Then the shells shrink and become brittle, and the nutmeats come out so much easier with each crack. No hammer neccessary. Just take a good pair of wire-clippers (see photos) and snip the butt ends of the shells. Then snip away at the thin-shelled cavities. Voila!

My family thinks I’m “nuts” for fooling with these… letting them sit around in a porcelein bowl for weeks on end like we’re some kind of frontier little-house-on-the-prairie family. When company comes to visit, they ask “What is THAT?”

I’m glad I’ve been toying with them for some time now. Truly well worth it. I am still learning their secrets, and perhaps have finally “cracked” their case!

[subdood_ky_z6b]

Good to know about letting them set. I picked up about 100 of them this year, and after having so much trouble getting out the meat, I kinda gave up on them.

Now I may have to give another try. They’ve been sitting in the laundry room for about 2 months, so they should be ready.

[Lucky_P]

Cracked the first batch of ‘Morris #1’ shagbarks that I’d collected this fall, last night. This was a gallon or so gathered a week or two back… the tail end of the crop, as I’d already collected a 5 gallon bucket of them earlier in the season.
Moisture level was just right on these… most cracked out as one full half, and a 3/4 to full half on the other side. Only had to use the wire-cutters a little bit to release a few fragments still caught in the shell.
Pulled some of the earlier-gathered nuts… they were too dry after sitting in a bucket in my bedroom for a month or so - cracked OK, but kernels fragmented. Soaked them for an hour or so, drained them, and put them in a sealed Tupperware container with a damp paper towel…should do better tonight.

[Barkslip]

I wish I had 6-gallons of hickories.

Dax

[Lucky_P]

I probably have 60-100 lbs of shagbark nuts that I gathered last year and didn’t get around to cracking; probably still OK, as they’ve been sitting down in the barn. I have some friends with a 10-acre open-wooded lot that is mostly shagbarks… probably 100 or so trees, and I’ve sampled them all - some are worth collecting, others not so much so.

Garnett shellbark produces so heavily that I’ve gathered, in some years, 20 5-gallon bucketsfull and you couldn’t hardly tell any had been picked up. I swung by and picked up a couple gallons, earlier this fall, just to have a few to send to someone who wanted to plant them, but didn’t bother gathering enough to fool with cracking out, as I already had plenty of shagbarks on hand.

[JesseS]

I would like to order in some hickory nuts to Crack over the winter, any suggestions of sources? I have asked for a ‘real’ nutcracker for xmas…

[Lucky_P]

this is quite a dated listing from the NNGA website, but some may still be valid:
http://www.nutgrowers.org/FAQ/purchasing.htm
I sold 20 or 30# to Cliff England last year… but when I started cracking out some of that same batch… they were not to my liking; I’m hoping he just used them to start some seedlings to sell for outplanting for wildlife or use as understocks.

You might find some available on eBay - everything else is out there!

[Fusion_power]

The best walnut and hickory crackers I’ve used are

Gerald Gardner’s http://www.masternutcracker.com/
A good general purpose cracker that works well on pecans, walnuts, and hickories.

Fred Blankenship’s call (270) 828-6141
An angle leverage cracker that works well on walnuts and hickories, but not so well on pecan.

And the Hunt nut cracker H & C Nut Cracker Company, 1522 E. Lacona, Des Moines, Iowa 50320.
wdenton@mchsi.com or at (515) 243-5783.
The Hunt works well on walnut and hickory but is a bit awkward with pecans.

Each of them has positives and negatives. I’ve used all 3 with good results on walnut.

[Lucky_P]

I have had opportunity to use a number of different models, and as mentioned all have positives and negatives.
I have a Kenkel ( https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kenkel-Hardshell-Nutcracker/17458468?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=6030&adid=22222222227014569506&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=52393531391&wl4=pla-83957663231&wl5=9014668&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=114233282&wl11=online&wl12=17458468&wl13=&veh=sem ) - and it’s serviceable on virtually all nuts… actually works best on one shagbark (Sinking Fork) than any other I’ve tried.
But, my go-to, for hickories and walnuts is Fred Blankenship’s ‘Mr. Hickory’ nutcracker. Here’s our buddy Dax demonstrating it: Mr. Hickory Nutcracker Demonstration 2017 - YouTube

I have several of the little Hunt’s/Reed’s Rocket piston-type pecan crackers… they work well on pecans, and if you have a REALLY thin-shelled shagbark like Sinking Fork or Pilot, they’ll crack them, especially if you soak them in hot water for an hour or so prior to cracking, but most shags, all shellbarks, and all BWs are really beyond what they were designed to handle.

[Lucky_P]

Just searched eBay for hickory nuts, just for grins - there are a lot on there… some look really good!
Current year crop, float-tested. Some even cracked & picked out.
Gotta be careful, though… saw a couple of offers that looked like they were pignut and mockernut, and at least one claiming to be shagbark, but the nuts look more like shellbark.
Prices pretty reasonable on most.