NatureBoost Episode 63: Black Walnuts
April 2025
SMA
[Intro music ♪]
>> Hey there, and welcome back to NatureBoost. I'm Jill Pritchard, with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Last month, we took you behind the scenes of George O. White State Forest Nursery to learn about its critical role in creating green spaces. And this month, we're continuing to discuss the importance of trees and everything they do for us, especially because we celebrate Arbor Days in April. Missouri Arbor Day was earlier this month on the 4th, while National Arbor Day is next Friday, April 25th.
Did you know Missouri forests cover about one-third of the state? It's a pretty big chunk when you think about it. Trees provide us with outdoor recreation, wildlife habitat, natural beauty, and create watersheds for streams and rivers. And of course on NatureBoost, we have to plug all of the wellness benefits of trees. Improving mood, lowering anxiety, helping our memory . . . and reaping the health benefits of the outdoors doesn't take long, either. When we become stressed, a network of nerves called the sympathetic nervous system activities. It responds to stress by increasing blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar. But, one study published in The National Library of Medicine found that just 5 minutes of nature exposure can regulate our sympathetic nervous system. In essence, we're improving our physical and mental health as soon as we step outside.
In celebration of Arbor Days this month, I wanted to put the spotlight on a unique tree that's quite a treasure trove of sustenance and a favorite among foragers. Odds are you probably have stumbled upon its native crop, come fall season.
[2:03]
This episode, we're cracking open the black walnut.
>> The best way to describe them, they look like green tennis balls. They usually, typically fall in September and October. Once they drop, that juglone which is the green husk, it'll deteriorate and turn black. It's a really good natural dye, but it'll stain hands for weeks. If you're ever dealing with black walnuts, we recommend using gloves. I learned that the hard way a few times. [Laughing.]
>> Jacob Bssica [sp?] is the executive vice president of Hammons Black Walnuts. You've probably seen Hammon's Black Walnuts packaged for sale in grocery stores. Located in Stockton, Missouri, Hammons is the leading buyer and processor of black walnuts in the United States. The business started in 1946 when Ralph Hammons, Jacob's great grandfather, noticed a lot of black walnuts growing across southwest Missouri. Seeing the future potential of this local crop, he bought a cracking machine and began buying black walnuts from the Missourians who gathered them each fall. There are more black walnuts grown and harvested in Missouri than any other place in the world. So, it wouldn't surprise you to learn that the black walnut is Missouri's official tree nut.
>> Black walnuts, being a deciduous hardwood tree, they thrive in fertile soil and river bottom areas. So, that's why black walnuts really do so well here, especially in southern Missouri. They grow abundant, and they continue to be replanted, whether that's by squirrels, or . . . elsewhere.
>> You always see the squirrels hacking away, banging to get these nuts open.
>> As Jacob said, black walnut trees are deciduous, which is just a fancy way of saying that they're trees that lose their leaves each year. That's opposed to evergreen trees like pine or cedar trees that do keep their leaves throughout the year.
[4:00]
Unlike other nut crops that grow in orchards, eastern black walnuts grow naturally in woods, pastures, and maybe even your own backyard. Every fall, Hammons buys millions of nuts from more than 200 hulling stations throughout the midwest. But, more than half of those stations are here in the "show-me state."
[Music ♪]
Every October, tens of thousands of people throughout the midwest participate in the annual black walnut harvest. Families, foragers, people from all different backgrounds will gather and collect black walnuts, and bring them to their nearest Hammons buying station. After the husk is removed, the in-shell nuts are bagged up and then brought to the central facility in Stockton. Because the in-shell nuts are really wet after the husk is removed, they have to be dried for about 4 to 5 weeks before they can be brought into the plant to be shelled and processed. Jacob was generous enough to give me a tour of the plant, which required us to wear a hairnet and a smock as part of their food safety policy. The whole experience made me feel like I was on an episode of that old Food Network show, "Unwrapped", which took you behind the scenes of food factories, to show you how your favorite foods were made.
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[Machine noise in background.]
>> You weren't expecting this, huh? [Laughing.]
>> You know, I didn't really know what to expect! But no, I don't think this was part of it. But, I'm very happy that it is. This is amazing.
>> We're going to loop around, okay? You can start to smell the aroma of the black walnuts.
>> I do!
>> The black walnuts have a really distinct, earthy, rich, deep flavor. You can really smell the aroma. You can also . . . feel that? That's the oils from the nut meats. Black walnuts have a high oil content, which are your healthy fats, okay?
>> Yeah!
>> But, just be careful . . .
[6:01]
>> A little slippery on the floor.
>> It is. We're going to go to the cracking room first.
>> The cracking room is the first stop for the in-shell black walnuts. Because the shell is so hard, thick and dense, it takes about 500 pounds of force to crack them. So, they're essentially crushed. They then go through an electronic sorting machine that separates the shell from the nut meats. Jacob explained that it's a laser sorting where it separates the shell and nuts based on color, shape and density. A whip of air rejects the shell, and the nuts pass through. Then, additional sorting separates the nuts by size before they go into the inspection room where staff inspect them by hand.
[Machine noise.]
>> Wow!
>> So, after they're sorted, then they come into our inspection room. We have all these stations set up by size.
>> This is the bigger . . .?
>> This is the largest, yep. What our inspectors are looking for, again, they're looking for any remaining shell, foreign material, any dark nut meats . . . anything that shouldn't be in the finished product.
>> Why is the dark nut meat bad?
>> Those are lower quality. Those tend to have a sharper flavor, even more robust than the "fancy grade", is what we'd call them. Black walnuts naturally have a dark skin. Those are still good quality nut meats. It's the ones that are almost completely dark brown . . . see, they don't have that gold and tan color. That's what we want.
>> Little golden nuggets.
>> The kernels, yeah. That's right.
>> And they're doing all this by hand?
>> Yep.
>> But . . . they're experienced, they know what they're looking for.
>> They do.
>> I like how it has . . . it's kind of vibrating as it goes down to shake it out.
>> Yeah. Vibratory tables that go across . . . it's interesting.
[8:01]
If there is say, a rock or a shell, they can actually hear that. You can hear that, so that does help. This is a very common process in the tree nut industry. You've got pecans in the south, almonds, walnuts in California . . . they have a similar step. We've used this step since we started in the 1940s. It's a very critical step in our whole shelling process. You know, we've got customers all over, throughout the whole country. They expect a high quality. They've got high standards.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> We have to meet those. We really have to exceed those standards. This is large, medium. That size as I mentioned, is common in ice cream. You have some Missouri ice cream brands like Prairie Farms and Central Dairy. . . Belfonte in Kansas City, and Highland Dairy. They use that size. The smaller sizes are used in beer making. You've got Piney River, they're out in Bucyrus, Missouri. They have a black walnut ale beer. So we ship them . . . they don't need a large kernel size throughout . . . it's just part of their brewing process. They're extracting the flavor. We also use smaller sizes for oil . . . it's a black walnut oil.
>> Right. What does that tend to [unclear]?
>> It's similar as olive oil. It's a finishing oil.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah, a cooking oil that has a unique, distinct flavor profile. But, a lot of different uses as olive oil has. We try to find an application for every single size.
[Music ♪]
>> The nuts then make their way to the packaging room. Bulk products are shipped to ice cream customers, private label or national nut brands, and even to food service for specialty chefs and bakeries.
[10:01]
Smaller-sized products are sent to grocery stores and other retailers.
>> Our busiest season of the year is during fall and holiday baking season. Because of their distinct, deep, rich flavor profile, their main use is as an ingredient. Baking is a very popular use for black walnuts. I mentioned ice cream as well. So, the fall holiday season, the 3rd and 4th quarters of the year is really where we're packaging in here on a daily basis.
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>> You may be thinking, "black walnuts? Just regular walnuts, right?" No, not at all. Probably the biggest difference between black walnuts and the English walnuts you're probably used to, is the flavor.
>> When you ask somebody, "how do you describe the flavor profile", you're going to get different answers, depending on their palette, even. But, that's why they lend themselves so well as an ingredient in a variety of recipies. English walnuts on the other hand, have a pretty light, subtle, bitter flavor. People mainly use regular walnuts for their texture, not so much their flavor.
>> Is there a difference in size between the two?
>> Yeah. That's another key distinct feature. Because these are wild-harvested, and not grown in orchards for the most part, black walnuts have a very thick, durable shell. A very hard shell. In a good year, we'll get only about 7 to 7.5% nut meat yield . . .
>> Really?
>> Versus other tree nuts, English walnuts, pecans, almonds, you name it . . . they get 50 to 60% nutmeat yield. That's why, as far as commercially available . . . black walnuts, you're not going to find big, large halves. Now, you will find large pieces, and that's what we provide.
[12:03]
>> As interest in locally-sourced and wild-harvested foods grows, black walnuts continue to gain attention in the culinary world. Innovative chefs are using them in savory dishes, deserts, and even infused oils. And, they're packed with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and protein . . . pretty much making them a powerhouse ingredient.
>> Looking at the distinct features of black walnuts . . . wild-harvested, unique flavor profile . . . but also, the health benefits. Black walnuts have the highest protein of all tree nuts, about 57% more than regular walnuts. So, not just the protein content, but also . . . you look at the list of healthy fats. Your omega-3, omega-6, a variety of vitamins and minerals . . . they're high in manganese, potassium, magnesium, selenium . . . so, you go down the list. Black walnuts' nutritional profile is incredible. This is truly a natural superfood that is right in our backyard. We love telling the story of how black walnuts' nutritional profile is one of the tops of all nuts. And, it's right here in Missouri.
[Music ♪]
>> Black walnuts aren't just for eating. They have other surprising uses, too. Historically, indigenous tribes used black walnut bark and husks for dyes, and medicinal purposes. There are even records of old time Ozarkers scattering the fresh leaves of black walnut around the house to repel insects like bedbugs and fleas. Today, the wood of the black walnut tree is prized for furniture and fine woodworking. Its lumber is dark, durable, and incredibly beautiful. The wood coupled with its fruit makes black walnut Missouri's most valuable tree.
[14:03]
And, we can't forget about sustainability. Black walnuts are a renewable forest product. Since they're hand-harvested from naturally growing trees, they support a healthy forest ecosystem while providing economic benefits to rural communities. Even more, the trees have a deep root system that prevents soil erosion while its leafy canopy provides habitat for birds, squirrels, and insects. Interestingly, black walnut trees produce a chemical called juglone which stunts or kills other plants growing nearby. It's nature's way of keeping competition in check.
[Music ♪]
In order to meet demands, the black walnut supply has to be consistent. But, relying on a wild-harvested crop can be pretty inconsistent. This crop can offer landowners many benefits, the joys of an annual nut harvest, and the value of a long term investment.
>> There are a number of landowners throughout the midwest, also Missouri, that have planted black walnut trees for nut production. The end use for that is the lumber, the wood, which is highly prized wood, right? So, we have worked with a number of landowners to plant black walnut trees. We can help facilitate, to count on that process, to where they can plant improved varieties of black walnuts that we buy on a grade and yield basis. It allows a market for people that have black walnut orchards to sell the nuts to somebody on a consistent, annual basis until they're able to collect the funds from the harvesting of the wood, at the end of say, 30 years or so.
[16:02]
Obviously, it's a long term investment for a landowner, but there is a market for the nutmeats. We encourage, if anyone is ever interested in planting black walnut trees . . . the Department of Conservation has a lot of resources, and a lot of the state nurseries. We can help facilitate, as far as some of those details go.
[Music ♪]
>> If you're interested in growing black walnut trees on your property, you can contact your local MDC forester on our website at missouriconservation.org. If you'd like to learn more about Hammons Black Walnuts, find a hulling and buying station near you, or discover a variety of cool black walnut recipies to test out, visit the Hammons website at black-walnuts.com. We'll also have that website linked in this episode description.
[Music ♪]
The next time you enjoy a black walnut cookie or admire a piece of beautiful walnut furniture, remember the trees behind it. These nuts are more than just a tasty treat. They're a connection to the land, the people who harvest them, and the ecosystems they support. A huge thank you to Hammons and Hammons executive vice president Jacob Basica [sp?] for appearing on this episode. To NatureBoost producer Peg Craft, and of course to you, for listening to another episode of NatureBoost. Stay tuned for next month's episode, where we'll be celebrating American Wetlands Month, and learning why these natural areas are called "nature's kidneys."
I'm Jill Pritchard with the Missouri Department of Conservation, encouraging you to get your daily dose of the outdoors!
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