How to Dry West Virginia Black Walnuts

If you grow your own walnuts, you have access to the perfect way to have fresh nuts for cooking and baking during the holiday season. Just growing them is not enough, however. In order to get the best-tasting black walnuts for yourself and your family, you have to dry them properly. Walnuts that are not properly dried will grow rancid quickly, ruining the taste. They may even develop mold that can be harmful if ingested. Follow the appropriate steps for safe and delicious dried black walnuts.

Rubber gloves
Pocket knife or hammer
Bucket
Water
Wire screen
Wooden spoon

Instructions

- 1
  Check the walnuts to make sure the hulls have all been removed. If not, hull them yourself, wearing rubber gloves and using your fingers, a pocket knife or a hammer to remove the exterior hulls from around the shells.
- 2
  Wash the shelled nuts to remove any remaining hull pieces. Fill a bowl, bucket or tub (depending on the number of nuts you have to wash) with warm water and dump the nuts in.
- 3
  Spread the walnuts in a thin layer (no more than three nuts deep) over a flat surface, such as a wire screen. Place the surface in a cool and well-ventilated area in which they will not get wet, such as a garage or shed.
- 4
  Stir the walnuts every day with a wooden spoon or other kitchen instrument to change the exposure each nut receives, which will facilitate drying time.
- 5
  Allow the walnuts at least a week to completely dry. This process can take longer depending on temperature and humidity. You will know the nuts are dry when the kernels and shells become brittle instead of rubbery.

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