Anyone crack Hickory nuts?
kiendu
16 years ago
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
16 years agoUser
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Hickory nuts from seeds
Comments (6)I mainly want the wood for smoking. I could collect the nuts easy enough in the woods. But those woods trees go straight up with no low branches to climb so they're not pruning friendly. I think I tried squirrel on the smoker and it wasn't right. The nut fed ones are much better than ones who like wild grapes. What I'm remembering from when I was in a house in the woods the hickory nuts weren't as good as the butternuts and I'm getting plenty of those this year so hopefully that tree is large enough to always give enough now. But the Hickories are a lot easier to crack so I'd like the nuts if I have the tree....See MoreGrowing Hickory and Hican for Nut Production (3)
Comments (135)Very nice video Dax. I don't split everything along the suture before I start cracking though. I usually use the nibbler as more of a finishing tool by wedging the nut in certain positions and cutting away pieces of the shell cavity that trap bits of kernel. I would've mentioned the two point position holes at the main hinge point used for adjusting for wider nuts. It helps to get wider nuts further back in the hinge where most of the force and pressure is. I like the catch box you built, I need to make one of those too. The John Deere Colored cracker I gave to my father in law. He said its too pretty to use, lol. I told him Its supposed to be used just like he uses his tractors. I was going to make a video too but I think the picture will be smaller because I can only use my phone. Again, very nice production! Tyler...See MoreHickory Nuts - Worth Anything?
Comments (91)Hi. Thank you. I looked at the pictures. Although the nuts look somewhat the same, the color is creamy white, and I would not describe these nuts as easy to crack. I think it was planted from a selection, from what I have read. These are good quality nuts and not terrible to remove from the shell. I really hate to lose this tree. It has fruit every year and not every other as the article states wild ones do....See MoreHickory Nuts
Comments (11)Christie, While a hammer will do in a pinch, your best bet would be a good nutcracker - one designed for use on hard-shelled nuts like black walnut(check out the NNGA Marketplace page at the site linked below). But a good bench-mounted vise will work just as well, if a bit slower to operate. I have cracked small numbers of them with a pair of vise-grip pliers - but I wouldn't want to do many that way. If you'll soak your clean hickory nuts in a pan of hot/warm water for an hour or two before beginning a session of cracking, you'll find that the shells will absorb enough moisture to bend, buckle, and split, rather than 'exploding' when you reach 'critical pressure'. Then, with a pair of diagonal wire-cutting pliers and a nutpick, you can usually give a snip here and there and remove the nutmeats mostly as intact halves or quarters. Nuts from every different tree will have differing cracking characteristics, and you'll have to experiment to see if they crack out better by applying force from end-to-end, or side-to-side, etc. Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Nut Growers Association...See Moresheilajean
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