Hickory Nuts: The "Inside" Story

(Page 3 of 3)

September/October 1980
By Clyde Williams Ickes III 
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Hickory nuts can also be used as delicious substitutes for pecans or walnuts in bread and dessert recipes . . . simply add the same amount of the wild nuts as you would normally use of the other varieties. You might, for instance, want to try this Old-Fashioned Hickory Molasses Pie . . . which I adapted from a traditional recipe (using pecans) that's featured in The Deaf Smith Country Cookbook.

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To make the family-pleasing dessert, fold together the following ingredients: 1-1/2 cups of unsulfured molasses, 4 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour, 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of butter. (EDITOR'S NOTE: You can substitute carob powder for the whole wheat flour in this recipe if you'd like a richer, darker pie. For more information on cooking with carob, turn to the article beginning on page 42 of this issue.) When the ingredients are well blended, stir in 1 cup of finely chopped hickory nuts . . . and pour the mixture into a 9- or 10-inch unbaked whole wheat pie crust. Then cook the pie in a moderate (350°F) oven for 35-45 minutes.

You can enjoy the wild flavor of hickory nuts in lots of dishes, once you've mastered the art of removing the meats. And—as you now know—it doesn't have to be as hard to crack hickories as their "bad" reputation might have led you to believe. I've been shelling the tasty nuts for a lot of years, and I can tell youfrom experiencethat the wild delicacies are well worth the extra effort and practice that's required to learn their "secret"!

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can read more about foraging for hickory nuts in William James's article "By Hickory Dickerin', Doc!" in MOTHER NO. 53, page 72. Back issues are available for $8.00 each-plus $1.00 shipping and handling per order from THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS® P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28791.

The Deaf Smith Country Cookbook, an excellent guide to the preparation of natural foods, can be found in many good bookstores or ordered for $5.95—plus 95¢ shipping and handling—from Mother's Bookshelf, P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28791.

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Comments

  • Betty 9/28/2009 4:00:28 PM

    We've lived in the same home in NJ for 56 years and have never seen such a bountiful crop of hickory nuts.Probably because of our rainy and cool summer. I've collected and husked them,I'll dry them and hope that I can crack them. Hope that they taste as good as everybody says that they do. Thanks for all the helpful hints.

  • Linda Simons 7/9/2009 10:47:10 AM

    This is my confirmation, hope this is what you need, Thanks Linda Simons

  • Michael Haynes 12/6/2008 10:14:10 AM

    I have been cracking hickory nuts for several years and have found that the best way is by using a pair of Vice Grips. Just set the jaws so that when squeezed to the locked position, the shell cracks sufficiently without crushing the meat. Since the shells are not perfectly round, you can place them in the jaws in such a way that you don't have to constantly adjust the VGs. Cup your free hand around the jaws to prevent shells from flying all over and you can do this about anywhere. Very fast and efficient.

  • Joy 10/30/2008 9:23:33 AM

    We have 23 acres of wooded property with many hickory trees. There are so many nuts this year, and my husband has been cracking them even though they are so small.

    On a walk through the woods yesterday I discovered a huge shaggy bark hickory that had large nuts all around it. I was so excited because the nuts are the size of an English walnut. However, when we came in and started cracking them, the meat was all shriveled and dryed. What a disappointment!

    Can anyone explain this? I can't think they were just old nuts as they weren't pushed down into the soil. Also we gathered all we could find around that tree, so I would think at least some would be the new harvest.

  • Barbara Sheehan 10/13/2008 9:40:57 AM

    Hi,
    My name is Barb Sheehan and I live in a rural area of mid-east Illinois near the border of Indiana. The Hickory Nut harvest is very big this year and the nuts are large and meaty. I have found the easiest way to crack a hickory nut, and be able to extract whole sides, is to use a vise. I place the hickory nut with the natural split parallel with the vise teeth. I squeeze until the first crack appears and then just a little more. I have now extracted 10 cups and still going by this method. Thank you for letting me add my two cents worth. Barb

  • Kansas Waterboy 9/15/2008 7:16:19 AM

    Thanks for all the excellent advice on how to get those little nut safes open. However, using the outer hulls as a garden mulch is a bad idea. These hulls contain large amounts of tannic acid and if introduced into an average vegetable or flower garden, will render the soil far too acidic to sustain most garden plants. Again, thanks for the tips.

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