walnuts

[ipt8]

I am battling with squirrels over walnuts on a tree. I have a plan for the tree which has meant pruning some branches.

From the branches I have removed about two bucketfulls of walnuts. These walnuts have developed nuts inside.

My question is what is the best way to deal with the walnuts I have collected?

???

:'(

[ipt8]

[RosieM]

hi,

Are the shells hard or soft inside the green casing?

Rosie

ps - wear gloves as they stain black

[ipt8]

The shells beneath the hard casing are hard and they contain nuts, all-be-it in the unripe stage.

[Mrs Ava]

Unripe walnuts are called green walnuts and are edible but apparently sour.  Great used in cooking though so I am told and considered quite special by some.

ps.  googled and found this list of tempting walnut recipes

http://recipes.epicurean.com/asc_results.jsp?title=Walnut

[jennym]

You can only pickle walnuts when the shells are soft - you need to pick them in about June, so make a note on your calendar for next year. You prick them a couple of times, cover in a thick layer of salt for 3 days, wash off salt quickly, cover with hot spiced vinegar & put in jars with seals or waxed paper between lid & jar, ready to eat in 3 to 4 months. Dead easy and so much cheaper than buying pickled walnuts - in the shops they are £2 or £3 for a small jar!

[David R]

eat the squirrels.

[aquilegia]

Bob Flowerdew said something about this on GQT the other week. If I remember rightly, you pick them after the green stage but before they are fully ripe to beat the squirrels (but not beat the squirrels with, a branch would be better for that!) THen leave them somewhere (can't remember where he said) to ripen. (darn - the bbc has only archived up to 2004!)