Hickory Nuts -- where to get 'em?

March 29, 2005 9:45 AM

Anybody know a by-mail source for hickory nuts? And are they worth it?

The nuts of hickory trees are similar to those of walnut and pecan. In old stories I read the occasional reference to hickory nut cookies & etc. Hickory nuts are supposedly available regianally -- do you ever see them for sale? And are they shelled?

posted by Rash to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

http://www.rayshickorynuts.com/

Most nut places don't have hickory nuts since there are very few commercial groves. When I've found them at local farmers markets and roadside here in the southern US, they're always in-shell, since a certain number of the shells are duds.
posted by jghanc at 11:08 AM on March 29, 2005

You can barely tell them apart except for the size and shape of the nut: smaller and flatter. The taste isn't any different. You could come down here and get all you want, believe me. In the fall, that is.
posted by atchafalaya at 2:45 PM on March 29, 2005

The flavor of hickory nuts isn't distinctive; at least, the flavor of raw hickory nuts isn't. A few years ago, my wife made a good faux-pecan pie with hickory nuts we'd shelled. A friend cracked a tooth on a little bit of shell that we'd missed. They're little nuts, which makes it damn hard to shell them thoroughly. Or wait—maybe it was because we had the kids shell them? Anyway, I don't think they're worth going out of your way, unless you can pick them up off the ground for free.
posted by bricoleur at 4:16 PM on March 29, 2005

Hickory? South? We had hickory nuts in Michigan, too.

The hickory isn't about the nuts, which are just a pain to shell. Its about the unique and FABULOUS flavor which results when smoking a ham with hickory. Let me tell you, those Europeans smoke hams in pine, and it comes out smelling like someone's house burned down (of course this is an American view).
posted by Goofyy at 1:48 AM on March 30, 2005