VIDEO You Need 2 Years of Food – Martin Armstrong

[packyderms_wife]

Never throw away food. There's always something that can be done with it.

This is why I insist on keeping a fully stocked spice/herb/condiment supply. Most everything can be made to taste good if you have the right seasonings.

 

[shane]

This is why I insist on keeping a fully stocked spice/herb/condiment supply. Most everything can be made to taste good if you have the right seasonings.

I’d become a Watkins dealer just to stock up on all their great spices, herbs and extracts at wholesale for that reason.

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane

 

[Samuel Adams]

Please tutor me on getting to the black walnut nutmeat efficiently! We have a lot of black walnut, but I have yet to find a good way to process without deciding I would rather starve! I did find and buy a black walnut nutcracker from Lehman's, but by that time I was done dealing with black walnuts and it hasn't been out of the box! What is your method?

Also, I read somewhere recently that black walnut tree sap makes a nice syrup. Have you ever tapped your black walnut tree's?

I feel like I have a potentially valuable commodity with these tree's, but aside from selling some to the Amish for their furniture making, I have yet to utilize their potential.

Walnuts…..

Your favorite hammer, carpenter or small/medium ballpeen.

Anvil, short chunk of railroad iron or hardwood stump….

My grampa’s old stump had an impressively uniform depression in the center from years of walnut cracking.

He’d fill quart jars for chrimmas presents to family members….

Anywho, strike first with the walnut held upright, straight down through the grain, but just hard enough to crack and not shatter;
Then turn it on its side and do the same, then another quarter turn and crack again, this time with intent to make pieces.

Practice practice practice

When you become proficient with that initial cracking process, the shell falls into several pieces at the last and a lot of the meat comes out in one piece. The rest is easily accessed with your nut pick.

Walnut syrup is said to be pretty tasty, but a lot of effort for a little.

I stick with maple.

 

[Greenspode]

Walnuts…..

Your favorite hammer, carpenter or small/medium ballpeen.

Anvil, short chunk of railroad iron or hardwood stump….

My grampa’s old stump had an impressively uniform depression in the center from years of walnut cracking.

He’d fill quart jars for chrimmas presents to family members….

Anywho, strike first with the walnut held upright, straight down through the grain, but just hard enough to crack and not shatter;
Then turn it on its side and do the same, then another quarter turn and crack again, this time with intent to make pieces.

Practice practice practice

When you become proficient with that initial cracking process, the shell falls into several pieces at the last and a lot of the meat comes out in one piece. The rest is easily accessed with your nut pick.

Walnut syrup is said to be pretty tasty, but a lot of effort for a little.

I stick with maple.

Have you done this with black walnuts? A normal hammer has not worked at all to crack my black walnuts!

I have been told to spread them out in the driveway and drive back and forth over them to get them out of the horrible hulls that stain EVERYTHING they touch, and then to use the special black walnut cracker from Lehman's, but I haven't tried it yet. I have struggled so badly with trying to use every type of hammer (including a sledge hammer) and not very successfully breaking into very many of them, I am reluctant to go back to the hammer method.

I truly wish I had regular walnuts instead of the black ones! I guess I need to break out that cracker that I bought and give it a try.

 

[hiwall]

the horrible hulls that stain EVERYTHING they touch

They have been used for many years as a stain/darkening agent. I keep some around here for that purpose. ( I have Arizona walnuts here)

 

[mecoastie]

Have you done this with black walnuts? A normal hammer has not worked at all to crack my black walnuts!

I have been told to spread them out in the driveway and drive back and forth over them to get them out of the horrible hulls that stain EVERYTHING they touch, and then to use the special black walnut cracker from Lehman's, but I haven't tried it yet. I have struggled so badly with trying to use every type of hammer (including a sledge hammer) and not very successfully breaking into very many of them, I am reluctant to go back to the hammer method.

I truly wish I had regular walnuts instead of the black ones! I guess I need to break out that cracker that I bought and give it a try.

Hammer works fine but it is definitely a technique that you have to figure out. We use a regular claw hammer. There are some good crackers out there and I have a couple but I find that the hammer actually makes less of a mess. Our way is about the same as Mr Adams above. But it takes practice to get it right.

 

[mecoastie]

They have been used for many years as a stain/darkening agent. I keep some around here for that purpose. ( I have Arizona walnuts here)

My aunt uses them as a natural dye for wool yarn.

 

[pauldingbabe]

My aunt uses them as a natural dye for wool yarn.

Very pretty dye! Lots of hard work.

 

[Samuel Adams]

Have you done this with black walnuts?

Extensively.

If I post here, it’s from experience, not speculation, unless strongly indicated otherwise.

 

[CaryC]

Extensively.

If I post here, it’s from experience, not speculation, unless strongly indicated otherwise.

Come on man this is the internet, you can be anybody and anything you want. LOL Experience doesn't count, just a screen name. LOL.

Just poking at you. Samuel Adams (yeah right LOL)

 

[Greenspode]

Extensively.

If I post here, it’s from experience, not speculation, unless strongly indicated otherwise.

Didn't doubt your honesty.....just wasn't sure if you had black walnut experience. Often people give advice based on regular walnuts, which I know from experience does not apply to blacks. No offense intended!

 

[marsofold]

Although it's a bit slower, you could use a shop vise to squeeze them into breaking apart. I have also wondered about using a large set of curved jaw vice-grips. Black walnuts have the highest protein level of any nut.

 

[Profit of Doom]

Come on man this is the internet, you can be anybody and anything you want. LOL Experience doesn't count, just a screen name. LOL.

Just poking at you. Samuel Adams (yeah right LOL)

Hold my beer.

 

[fi103r]

French Army. It has a nail file, a tweezers, a corkscrew and a little white flag that unfurls.

RR

Crate and Barrel had a thing I called the “French Army Knife”
cheese spreader (dull blade) and a corkscrew with really elaborate engraved wood grips I presume to ease use of corkscrew

 

[Profit of Doom]

Watching the Prime Battlestar Galactica. Second episode, lost most of their water, doing a survey of basic supplies they need. Current civilian population of 45,265 will require at minimum 82 tons of grain, 85 tons of meat, 119 tons of fruit, 304 tons of vegetables, and 2.5 million JPs of water.
Per week.

 

[Reasonable Rascal]

Crate and Barrel had a thing I called the “French Army Knife”
cheese spreader (dull blade) and a corkscrew with really elaborate engraved wood grips I presume to ease use of corkscrew

Nope, it was to better pair up with the cheese. The wine is easier.

RR

 

[Bridey Rose]

Just finished packing up most of my "2-years worth" for the USPS Food Drive pick-up tomorrow and delivery to my church on Sunday. Whew!

Make sure you're in your permanent homestead before you stock up on that much food. I decided to divest myself of my stores before permanently moving cross-country to my late mother's house (now mine). Will stock up again there one my pantry is set up.

 

[BetterLateThanNever]

Although it's a bit slower, you could use a shop vise to squeeze them into breaking apart. I have also wondered about using a large set of curved jaw vice-grips. Black walnuts have the highest protein level of any nut.

My wife brought home a huge portion of the nuts from her brothers farm in Hartwell Ga. a few years ago.

I found that after using hammers etc, I found using a vice to be the best method for me.

Get the vice just tight enough where you need to apply a bit more pressure to get that "pop" to split the shell open.