MISSOURI, USA — Trees throughout Missouri are beginning to ditch their usual greens for reds, oranges, and golds as the region transitions into autumn. As leaves begin to fall, so too will nuts.
Fall is prime time gathering season for the state's "homegrown" nuts, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Numerous nuts are ready to harvest from September to October.
Black walnuts, Missouri's state nut, will be the most plentiful nut foragers will be able to find throughout the state. The name is a bit misleading as the actual nut is covered by a green, tennis ball-looking husk that must be cracked open to get to the good stuff.
"Missouri is the world’s top producer of black walnuts, which are used in many baking recipes and are our state tree nut," Peg Craft with MDC said online. "The kernel is oily, sweet, and edible. Walnuts are a hard nut to crack and first-timers will need tips to succeed."
Luckily, an archived University of Missouri article offers numerous tips to first-timers, including:
- Use a "dent test" to determine when is the right time for harvest. When more than 75% of a tree's black walnut husks can be dented by a thumb, the tree is ready for harvest.
- Homeowners often use creative methods such as running over the nuts with a vehicle or using grinders or other abrasive means to remove husks.
- Once husks are removed, walnuts should be hung in bags that permit airflow and dried for about five weeks.
- Any walnuts with cracked shells, and therefore susceptible to microorganism infection, should be discarded.
- Heavy-duty crackers are needed to break open their thick shells.
- Walnuts for immediate use can be put inside an airtight container in the refrigerator or stored in the freeze for a year.
Not wanting to go through the hassle of cracking open Missouri's state nut? Pecans may be your next best bet.
"[Pecans'] naturally splitting husk and thin shell make it fairly easy to gather and process," Craft said. "Pecans are one of the most important cultivated nuts of North America and are tasty in pies."
A more numerous and varied nut is the hickory, which has nine different species of tree that grow around the state. The nut is denoted by the golden hue it takes on when it's ready to harvest.
"Hickory fruits have the husk split lengthwise for at least half of the fruit length, releasing the nut," MDC's website said. "The nuts often have 4 lengthwise ridges; otherwise, the nut’s outer surface is hard (bony) and either smooth or shallowly wrinkled."
