Hickory Dickory Dock
By Marie Anne
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
United States
September 18, 2008 2:18pm CST
Do any of you have hickory nut trees?
I've got a huge tree in front and back of this small house we're renting and the nuts are a real nuisance when they start falling. The windstorm we had on Sunday knocked about half of them down and the yard is a mess, not to mention that if you're not careful, it's like walking with rollerblades on.
I've been raking them up to throw into the woods, then decided to see what else I might be able to do with them. I searched and found that there are some varieties that are not only edible, but very tasty. They are in the same family as black walnut and pecan, and those nuts aren't cheap!
I cracked one open (which is a pain in the butt to do) and tasted a piece, and it did taste very similar to a black walnut, so I think I may attempt to crack more and see how much trouble it would be to get any quantity at all. I love brownies and cookies with walnuts in them, so I'm going to give it a shot.
So ... do you have any hickory nut trees? Or nut trees of any type? Do you pick them and use them in cooking or baking? Do you sell them? Do you give them away? Do you gather and toss into the woods?
Is it worth the effort?
8 people like this
15 responses
@mamacathie (3928)
• United States
18 Sep 08
Yes! I have so many in the yard now that it is dangerous to try to even walk. You go rolling instead. LOL I was wondering the same thing that there had to be something I could do with these, the squirrels cannot eat all of them. LOL We also go so many green acorns that fell also and they are so pretty. I am still trying to figure out something to do with them. I will have to try opening one and seeing what they taste like? God bless.
2 people like this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
18 Sep 08
From what I saw online, there are several different types, but I think the nuts that I have are good ones, taste almost like black walnut.
I just don't know if it'll be worth the effort to try to bust them open. Everything I'm reading said it's real hard and you can't get decent sized pieces, they break into smithereens.
2 people like this
@fasttalker (2796)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I seen the reference to acorns in the post. I do know that acorns are used in several crafts. You can sell these at craft fairs and to some small craft stores. Especially this time of the year. I don't know if they are edible or not. Good Luck!
@fasttalker (2796)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I have all kinds of hickory trees around my house. We cut two down for that reason...it was impossible to walk! They are very good and I always gather them in buckets and in the winter it helps children suffering from boredom.LOL Give them a hammer (if they're old enough) and a hard surface and I have even paid them to shell them out. They are hard to shell and you wont go broke! LOL They are very good for baking of any kind and they will replace walnuts in any recipe. Hey are you an ebayer? Maybe we could sell them on ebay to all those poor people that are deprived of them! LOL Hope this helps!
2 people like this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
19 Sep 08
The tiny bits that I was able to pull out and get into my mouth did taste good, but getting them out is a problem, as you know.
I'm going to give it a try this weekend. It won't cost me anything to try except time, and that's the one thing I do have.
1 person likes this
@1grnthmb (2055)
• United States
18 Sep 08
I never had a hickory tree. I do not even know if they grow in our area. But the last place I lived we had an almond and a pecan tree. They never produced much because the trees had been neglected for several years before I moved into the place. I think I got about thirty almonds off the tree the year we moved from there which was the best crop I got from it. The pecans always were bug eaten so we never got much from them. Now! I had a friend who's pecan tree was prolific and we would get the nuts, shell them and freeze them and used them in baking.
2 people like this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Mmmm, I love both almonds and pecans. I would love to have either or both of those trees for sure.
1 person likes this
@shell1986 (405)
• United States
18 Sep 08
I personally don't have any hickory nut trees but my mother does. She always picks them and someone roasts them in the house and it produces this wonderful hickory smell. If you can figure out exactly how to do it, I would highly recommend it. I'm a huge fan of nuts as well, especially in brownies! Good luck with your nuts haha (I couldn't resist!) Have a great day!
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
19 Sep 08
They smell good too? I might roast them just for that!
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31633)
• United States
18 Sep 08
There was a hickory tree down the street that fell into the alley with that wind storm and there are nuts all up and down the alley! People have been gathering them happily, I guess they're the edible kind. There'll be lots of good holiday baked goods!
2 people like this
@waters1748 (307)
• United States
18 Sep 08
I don't have any but I'm kind of jealous of those of you that do. I love nuts of all kinds pretty much. I like them in brownies too and cinnamon rolls my mom makes that is kind of like monkey bread. Nuts are so expensive I wouldn't get rid of them. Use them yourself and/or put some in a pretty container and give to a friend or as a thank you to someone. I know as far as I'm concerned that would kind of nice to get from someone.
2 people like this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
18 Sep 08
I don't know any thing about hickory nuts but the wood is very hard. When we lived on the military post we would go out and pick up the pecans that were on the post. We would spend some time shelling them but usually had more eaten that were kept for baking. Do the hickory nut have mush flesh in them? Do they have a thick green hull over the shell.. If they do how will you get the hulls off?
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
18 Sep 08
One place I lived (in Vancouver) had some hazelnut trees. I did pick and eat them but they weren't the same as the ones found inside chocolates... I roasted some in the oven, and they came closer.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
18 Sep 08
Mmmm, that sounds good. Chocolate with hazelnut.
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Yes we do have a hickory nut tree, but I was told the kind we have is not good, they are bitter..I know that my dog loves to play with them, but since the tree is where the fire is, we usually wear shoes and it doesn't bother me too much..
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
19 Sep 08
hi ldyjarhead we dont have any hickory nuts as we livein an apartment. but when I was a kid my grandpas people would mail us hickory nuts from Missouri. they were so good, just as good
as black walnuts. in the stores like trader joes they are really pretty expensive. I really like hickory nuts as well as black walnuts and they are easierto shell thant the black walnuts. they are so good in cookiesand brownies too.If I were you I would treasure them and eat them as nuts are really good for you. Iam not supposed to eat nuts because I have diverticulitis but I still do and its not bothered me but corn really makes me ill much as I love the stuff;
1 person likes this
@koalatbs (2229)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Good luck baking those hickory nut brownies and cookies Ldyjarhead! Just make sure those are really hickory nut trees that those nuts are coming from in your yard. I'd hate for you to get sick from the nuts if you are mistaken. 
Be careful out there!
Be careful out there!@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
19 Sep 08
No, they're definitely hickory nuts. There are several different types and some taste better than others, but I don't think any of them are bad for you.
I pretty much pinpointed which I have by a picture, and they do taste similar to black walnut, which is what that particular nut said.
@guybrush (4658)
• Australia
19 Sep 08
We don't have hickory nuts, but we do have oranges and limes - thousands of them! At first we make juice, then we make lime ice cubes ... then we pick up the ones that are rotting on the ground. We give bags of them away, but still they fall! For some reason, those trees go absolutely nuts, and seem to have two or three fruitings each year. It's a real shame to have to throw them away, but in the end we can't even give them away.
1 person likes this
@guybrush (4658)
• Australia
20 Sep 08
I did think of doing that - but a neighbour a few houses down did that with some vegetables a couple of years ago, and some local kids decided they'd throw them at his house! He ended up with a badly dented car, stains all over the side of the house and busted vegies everywhere. So, didn't dare when I remembered that ...
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
19 Sep 08
Hi Ldyjarhead,
Oh! you are lucky, we don't have anything like that, we may have a few hazel nut trees around the woods but I haven't seen any and we have chestnut trees but we can't eat the nuts and the are called conkers and the kids play with them, so it quite boring here.
Tamara
1 person likes this
@onlydia (2808)
• United States
21 Sep 08
Hey why couldn't you bag them and sell them to a organic store? Like one of the co-ops. You maybe could do that. Here in north Minneapolis there was this guy that used to sell peacan's from back home where his family is from. So why not?. Your friend Onlydia
@comfort55 (1574)
• India
19 Sep 08
Here the climate is warm throughout so nuts do not grow . I think its a cold climate fruit.
