Hickory Nuts_What to do?

A tad early, but the hickory nuts have started dropping from the 100+ year old shagbarks on our property that we moved into last summer. Aside from leaving plenty for the "tree rats", what should I do with them? (We don't have grackles and the darn birds don't seem fond of them )

Take a hammer and a brick, learn to whack the nut just so (you don't want to pulverize it, just fragment it), then pick out the meats for a delectable nibble. Or accumulate enough for a hickory nut cake. Yummy!

Start raising hogs?? Or do they only like pignut hickory nuts?

Mark Lipton

About 50 years ago, some enterprising rogue planted a grove of hickory trees in the Upper Galilee. Truth be told, I gather the nuts to feed the few squirrels that have managed to survive in Tel Aviv. Never tried eating them....

Best
Rogov

Start raising hogs?? Or do they only like pignut hickory nuts?
Mark Lipton

Hmmm, I'm told that until about 25 years ago our backyard was a hog pen. But then again, these hillbillies are fond of making stuff up.

About 50 years ago, some enterprising rogue planted a grove of hickory trees in the Upper Galilee. Truth be told, I gather the nuts to feed the few squirrels that have managed to survive in Tel Aviv. Never tried eating them....

Best
Rogov

Daniel,
We have just a few tree rats here. Given the large number of oaks, hickory and ubiquitous black walnut trees, I would expect to be overrun. Happily something or someone is keeping their population in-check.
BP.

Am I the only one who sees "hickory nuts" and thinks "Euell Gibbons"?

Am I the only one who sees "hickory nuts" and thinks "Euell Gibbons"?

I used to have two of Gibbons' books. Alas, they didn't survive a house fire. Lots of useful info in them, though.

More recently, I read somewhere of how some Native American tribes would pulverize the hickory nuts, then cover with water in a cooking container. After stirring the mixture a bit, the bits of shell would settle to the bottom, then the hickory nut "milk" would be poured into another container and used to cook with. I've been meaning to give it a try sometime, but have not found a reliable supply of the nuts since reading the article.

We have just a few tree rats here. Given the large number of oaks, hickory and ubiquitous black walnut trees, I would expect to be overrun. Happily something or someone is keeping their population in-check.

Not to cast any aspersions on your neighbors, Bill, but a former student of Jean's (now chair of the chemistry dept at Univ. of Evansville) supplemented his food plan while at ISU by bagging squirrels on campus and cooking them. When I expressed some incredulity at this practice, he defended it by saying that he never ate raccoon, though he did aver that his cousin was the President of the Clinton County Coon Club.

Really, I couldn't make this sh*t up,
Mark Lipton

Not to cast any aspersions on your neighbors, Bill, but a former student of Jean's (now chair of the chemistry dept at Univ. of Evansville) supplemented his food plan while at ISU by bagging squirrels on campus and cooking them. When I expressed some incredulity at this practice, he defended it by saying that he never ate raccoon, though he did aver that his cousin was the President of the Clinton County Coon Club.

Really, I couldn't make this sh*t up,
Mark Lipton

We need a few starving students like that in our neighborhood.

Take a hammer and a brick, learn to whack the nut just so (you don't want to pulverize it, just fragment it), then pick out the meats for a delectable nibble.

My Grandparents' farm had a good number of hickories on it. They do make a good snack straight from the shell.

Plant'em and leave it your will for your great grandkids to smoke their pork with the results. That is if they are still eating pigs at that time.

Plant'em and leave it your will for your great grandkids to smoke their pork with the results. That is if they are still eating pigs at that time.

Carl-
As you mention, the Hickory is very slow growing. Last year I planted a few nuts and one germinated. Today it stands a mighty 3" tall and may double in size next year, so I doubt I will live long enough to enjoy its shade or fruit.. As best I can determine, our two larger Shagbarks, with diameters of 27" and ~75' height, are probably 200 years old,+/- 25 years. Hard to believe they avoided the axe all these years, but I'm glad they did.
BP