Choose from a category or start typing to begin search. This year’s California walnut crop is shaping up to be the second-largest harvest on record: an estimated 470,000 short tons! Feeling inspired? After this step, the nuts will be packaged and shipped off. As the nuts begin to ripen in the fall, you'll find a pitted shell that encases a fibrous sack that begins to split as the nuts ripen. Can you eat raw walnuts off the tree? I should know the answer to this question since I grew up with walnut and almond trees in the backyard, along with a Noah's Ark of fruit trees. All Rights Reserved. If stored and handled properly, they can even be consumed up to one year after harvest, although they’re generally consumed much earlier. Although a lot of people choose the roast their walnuts because of the fact that doing so can enhance the taste, you tend to lose a lot of the vitamins and minerals that make these nuts so healthy to eat. Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. After being initially screened for any debris, the kernels are air-separated from the cracked shells and sorted into a variety of sizes and colors. Read more: http://www.yumsugar.com/Walnut-Harvesting-Season-Pictures-25589173?slide=11. Walnuts may be the oldest-known cultivated tree crop, but until recently, I had little idea as to how the actual harvesting and processing procedure goes down. Generally speaking, lighter-colored intact halves sell at a premium, while smaller darker pieces are sold at a lower price. Although a lot of people choose the roast their walnuts because of the fact that doing so can enhance the taste, you tend Walnuts may be the oldest-known cultivated tree crop, but until recently, I had little idea as to how the actual harvesting and processing procedure goes down. Although raw walnuts may not taste the best, they are very good for you and can help to do a number of things, including lowering cholesterol and even helping to keep one’s blood pressure in check. Additionally, a small sample is removed from each batch and will undergo chemical and microbiological laboratory tests to ensure that they meet all food safety regulations set forth by the California Walnut Board, the USDA, and the FDA. The menu included a velvety pureed butternut squash soup topped with a dollop of crème fraiche and toasted walnuts, as well as roasted salmon with dill sauce, penne with roasted seasonal vegetables and toasted walnuts, and a persimmon galette topped with (you guessed it) walnuts. After the walnuts are cleaned and the leathery outer husk is removed, one of the first processing steps these walnuts will undergo is a mechanical drying process. It is ideal to eat walnuts raw because of the fact that you will benefit from them the most this way. ©2020 California Walnuts. Thankfully, the California Walnut Board and Commission invited writers to the Mariani Nut Company’s orchards and processing plant to better understand the journey each walnut makes from the tree branch to your plate. Even those walnuts sold in shell will be dried to achieve an 8-percent moisture level, which results in a snappier and nuttier nut familiar to consumers’ palates and also protects the nuts from rot. Raw walnuts' nutmeat is considered to be a delicacy that many people enjoy throughout the fall and winter time, although you can keep them throughout the year. This is great news, as the California walnut industry accounts for more than 99 percent of the commercial US supply as well as about three-quarters of the global trade.