(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Butternuts.... What are they good for?

B

Brad Buchanan

Member

I have a large butternut tree that overhangs part of my back yard. Every year about this time I have hundreds of these green-skinned perils to deal with.

The little beasties fly into my garden and when trodden upon act as a roller bearing causing the trodder to flail his armes to regain his balance (especially if you a bit clumsy, more than a bit if you ask my wife).

They never seem to have a purpose i.e. growing little butternut trees but if you hit them with the mower just right they take off at warp 9 to the next county.

So do they have any redeeming traits or were they just conceived to annoy the humans within their realm?
 
I'd love to have some.

They are just about non existant in my part of the country.

Dean
 
They're good to eat. just use them like you would black walnuts in candies & fudge,or ice cream. I personally think their flavor is lots better than the black walnut. You can also eat the meat from them as you would any other nut. just let them dry hull them then crack them & remove the meat. We used to put them in the driveway to be ran over to get the outside hull off them, let them dry then in the winter crack them. Just my thoughts, Keith
 
Well said Keith.
We were a bit too far north for black walnuts up in central MN but we did have a lot of butternuts.
I think not a lot of people harvest them any more but we did it as kids.
We'd pick a couple gunny sacks full then Dad would put water and the nuts in an old cement mixer to knock the husks off of them. Then bag them up and dry them till mid winter when us kids would crack them.
I have a couple hundred board feet of butternut lumber that I had sawn about 25 years ago. Stashed in a semi trailer.
I ought to sell the stuff one of these days.
 
Y'reckon that's what I've got here in my fron-chard? :>)

<a href="http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii44/thurlow8/?action=view¤t=chesnuts001.jpg" target="_blank">
chesnuts001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket
</a>
<a href="http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii44/thurlow8/?action=view&current=chesnuts002.jpg" target="_blank">
chesnuts002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket
</a>
 

They're the best tasting nut that grows in my area (in my opinion). They taste like black walnuts without the bitter aftertaste.

Lucky you still have one, they're all but extinct in my area because of butternut canker.
 
Ah! Those are horse chestnuts. I believe they are the variety that are poisonous if you cook them or not. The trees look real pretty when they're in bloom. Ours was just white with flowers this year, even with the drought.

Mike
 
we always put them on a low roof to dry, then put them in gunny sacks in the shed to dry more. close to christmas us kids would crack them, that was part of the holidays, put in cookies candies cakes bread you name it.!!! I've tried for years to find some at a nursery with no luck.
Dan
 
Just told wife about your problem, "where does he live, I want some, I'll take all I can get". I guess I should know when to keep my yap shut. now I have to find some!!.
Dan
 
Dont have to, just set on the side walk and crack them with a rock.We knew the location of every butter nut tree for miles around.
 
Thurlow,
Would you be willing to ship me a half dozen of those nuts? A guy can google how to get them to start. One might grow here in the Twin Cities. I remember horse chestnuts on the courthouse lawn as a kid but haven't seen one around here in forever.
My lot here does have a pair of walnuts (no nuts this year) and I have both native butternuts and walnuts (introduced) up at my land. But If I could get a couple of buckeyes to take here I would think I had done a good thing.
If Brad would ship some of his butternuts so that others could get them reestablished where they have died out it would be a nice gesture to the genus. Not putting you on the spot Brad. Just thinking out loud.
I could ship some if somneone wanted next year.
Kind of what the internet is good for.

Edit:
Put a bushel of them on consignment with the local pumpkin seller or roadside stand - apple orchard and see if theu sell.
 
(quoted from post at 15:34:25 09/24/12) How do I know when they are ripe?
Click to expand...

We always let the sticky outer covering dry up to the point that it would flake off, and then crack them with a hammer on the anvil. pretty tough to crack but very sweet meat.
 
Those horse chestnuts, (Ohio Buckeye) grow most anyplace you plant them. Just transplanted a nice volunteer one out at the farm last night. I planted about 50 of them in the grove a couple years ago and fifty of them grew. They don't do much though in among the other trees. Have to plant them in the fall so they over winter, anyway, that is what the squirrels do and they grow all over the lawn.
 
Ultradog, they're actually Chinese chestnuts; I'll be glad to send you some if you'll send me your address: jhkoonce44 at hotmail dot com
 
Ok, I give, what's all the fuss about? There was a couple that stopped in this time last year to look at my chopper & they were extatic that I had an over abundance of horse 'nuts under my tree. They asked if they could have a few & I told them to take all they want, I'm sick 'n' tired of slipping on the darned things. They cleaned up every last nut like they were golden eggs. Even sent along the couple saplings that were growing under the pine. Those two couldn't have been happier. We got to talking about the chopper & I never did think to ask what the big deal was. Oh well, as long as they're happy I guess.

Whatever the attraction, if you want some, let me know.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top