Walnuts from the tree--how to prepare?

My landlady has a walnut tree in front of the duplex we share, and the boughs are now heavy with walnuts--indeed there are dozens of walnut trees in my Los Angeles neighborhood, and the squirrels are growing fat from the innumerable nuts. When I harvested a few and knocked off the green, leathery outer skin the familiar tan shell of the walnut was exposed. But when I cracked the shell open, the nut inside was shriveled and unappetizing. How ought I to harvest and prepare walnuts?

[garlicginger]

Some walnut farmer will respond and prove me wrong, but I think it's too early to harvest walnuts here in California. When they're ripe (or contain a worm), they'll fall from the tree. In the commercial orchards they have a shaker apparatus on the tractor. Also a big umbrella-like thing. They open the umbrella under the tree, then shake the tree. All the nuts that fall into the unbrella are harvested. I have harvested walnuts from the ground under the tree as late as Thanksgiving. By then, the outer shells are ready to just fall off - makes everything easier. Then you sit around watching TV for several nights and just crack the nuts. I found that I could zap them, a few at a time, in the microwave and then the inner husks would fall right off. Then you can roast them in a pan in the oven or fry them in oil or whatever you want to do with them. I'd do a net-search and see if the walnut farmers don't have a web site. Maybe they have a question forum????

[Kimmie]

Hi Samo and welcome to Cheftalk.

I have found an interesting website. I just hope it won't make you go completely NUTS!. Coming from someone from Canada, you have to admit that it's pretty cool. Just click here.

[Isa]

The only time I picked walnuts was in France a while back. I seem to recall you had to let the walnuts dry, right of the tree they were green.

[bakingpw]

Wait until the nuts fall to the ground. You need to get the outside green shell off. The easiest and fastest way to do this is to place them in the driveway and run over them with the car (No, I'm NOT kidding!) Then come the washings. Wash until the water comes clean. Believe me, this takes a long time! Then dry. Dry in a netting bag - a few weeks - a month or two. Then with hammer, break shells and pick out the nut meats. A long, laborious task but well worth it for black walnuts!!!

[shroomgirl]

Are these English or Black Walnuts?...If you run over english walnuts you got mush. Black walnuts are another story.

[CampChef]

Igrew up with three english walnut trees in the front yard. What a treat! bakingpw's directions are pretty close except:
As shroom said, don't drivr over them, just put them on the patio or in the basement and let the covering turn black. Then wear gloves and rub the covering off. Then do the rinse. English walnuts crack much easier than blacks, so no hammer is needed, just use a nut cracker.

[momoreg]

Surely squirrels don't have cars!

[CapeCodder]

Obvioulsy, you have never driven in Boston