I got an $18 1-lb bag of black walnut pieces at the Western North Carolina Farmers Maarket. These were the first I’ve ever tried (I’ll crack some I harvested myself in a couple weeks). They have a floral/fruity flavor – sort of like concord grapes, as a friend pointed out, but also similar to the fluoride stuff the dentist swabs on your teeth, or the resin from a sweet gum tree. It is not a strong taste for me, and I have been eating them by the handful.
What do they taste like to you?
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Since this is more of a poll of taste opinions rather than a factual question, it belongs in the IMHO forum.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
It’s a strong organic chemical taste, sweetish. I’ve never tried eating them straight. I was raised in a household where we cracked our own, so they were precious and only to be used to flavor baked goods.
To me, they just taste like normal walnuts, only more bitter.
The wood’s great, though, and you can also use them to stain other woods.
They taste like more intense, fruity walnuts.
I once sat and cracked hundreds of them on the garage floor with a brick. That was a lot of work for little broken nubs of nuts, but boy they were good. I baked black walnut quick bread, I think. Delish.
I’m a little embarrassed that I’ve made it to my 30s thinking these things aren’t food. Will have to try one next time I’ve the opportunity to open one, which I remember being a pain.
They sure do smell nice, though.
Anyone who has tried to crack enough black walnuts to get a pound of nutmeats understands why the $18 dollar bag was a bargain. The only comparable nut around here is the hickory nut, but they’re even better than black walnuts.