WALNUTS – Odds & Ends 51

The last time I visited Taranaki I called in to visit the house I had built on the outskirts of New Plymouth. I was surprised and delighted to see walnuts lying on the lawn. My father had given me that tree when I was living there sometime in the 60s – it brought back happy memories.

        The name walnut is derived from an old English word welhhutu meaning ‘foreign nut.

        Over half the world’s production is grown in China, though many are now grown in California.

        I have a friend living on a small farm in the Upper Plain area of the Wairarapa. He grows Walnuts and has a scoop to collect the nuts after they drop. He then has a small machine to crack the nuts and to sort the kernels from the shell.      

        Probably Hawkes Bay and Canterbury would be New Zealand’s biggest production areas.

        I buy my nuts, in the shell from my supermarket. I enjoy cracking them.

        I put a wooden board on the bench and hit them with a small tack hammer.

        I put the kernels into my banana bread cake, ginger, and raisins – it’s yummy.

        I also enjoy a sandwich made with walnuts and raisins. They are also good to add to salads.

        My mother preserved immature nuts in vinegar. Her pickled walnuts were delicious with cold meats. But she found it hard to select the nuts at the right stage of immaturity.

        Next time you plan to plant a tree consider a walnut tree – you will be well rewarded.

        They are also a good tree for young children to climb.

Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“Plant for the future.

Keep looking for tomorrow’s crop.”