One Plant a Week: Black Walnut
This is the twenty-first post in our new series, One Plant a Week, where we learn a new, edible plant every week. That means that if you follow along, you’ll know 52 new plants after only a year of doing this. As our foraging expert guest, Pascal Baudar said on the Wild Fish and Game Podcast, it will make you more of a wild plant expert than 99.99999% of the population.
We recommend you go out and find these plants if they exist in your region. You don’t necessarily have to harvest them; simply familiarize yourself with them and get to know them well. See them in their different phases of life, in different terrains and conditions. See who else likes to eat them (Bears? Squirrels?), pollinate them (Butterflies? Hummingbirds?), or use them (Nesting birds? Muskrats?). Use plant ID apps, along with foraging/ID books, online resources, and mentors to teach yourself about them more and to get comfortable enough with them that you can ID to 100% accuracy.
Then, if you feel confident enough, bring some home and try preparing some to eat. Try doing this with different specimens in different stages of life to see when it is best to harvest them. Knowing these plants through and through will transform the way you interact with the outdoors, as well as the way you see food. A warning though: this is an addictive hobby!
An additional warning: Plant ID apps are not 100% accurate, and you should not be eating ANYTHING wild unless you are 100% sure that it is safe to do so. Do not rely solely on one source for your information (including us), and do not eat anything unless you’ve properly identified it.
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This Week is All About the Black Walnut!
The black walnut (Juglans nigra) is one of North America’s most celebrated native nut trees, admired both for its distinctive flavor and for the high-quality lumber it produces. For centuries, people have gathered its tough-shelled nuts each autumn, often staining their hands in the process but treasuring the rich reward inside. Unlike its cousin, the more familiar English walnut, the black walnut packs a bold, earthy flavor that immediately sets it apart.
Beyond its culinary value, black walnut has long been intertwined with culture and tradition. Indigenous peoples used not only the nuts as food but also the husks for dye and the wood for tools. Settlers soon recognized the strength and beauty of the lumber, which remains among the most valued hardwoods today. Even in modern times, the tree is honored in regional festivals across the Midwest, where nut-gathering and recipe contests celebrate its seasonal bounty.
For foragers, hunters, and outdoor cooks, black walnut offers a true taste of the land. Though the shells can be frustratingly hard, the flavor of the nut is unmatched in depth. Knowing how to identify, harvest, and use black walnut can add an entirely new dimension to wild food exploration.
Description:
Black walnut trees are large, long-lived members of the walnut family, often reaching 70–100 feet in height with wide, spreading crowns. Their bark is dark, deeply furrowed, and rough to the touch. The leaves are compound, typically carrying 15–23 narrow, serrated leaflets on a single stem, releasing a pungent, resinous scent when crushed. In summer, the trees develop clusters of green, round fruits about the size of a tennis ball, which fall to the ground in the fall.
As the season progresses into autumn, these husks darken and eventually split to reveal an exceptionally hard, corrugated shell inside. Breaking into the nut requires persistence: a hammer, vice, or specialized nutcracker is often necessary. Once cracked, the nutmeat appears in irregular chambers, unlike the neat halves of English walnuts, making extraction a challenge. However, the reward is worth the effort, as the flavor is stronger, more complex, and earthier than most cultivated varieties.
Lookalikes in the wild are few, but they do exist. The butternut (Juglans cinerea), also called white walnut, produces similar husked nuts, though they are more elongated and sticky-husked compared to the rounder, thick-husked black walnut. Butternut trees are less common and declining due to canker disease. Hickories (Carya species) also produce hard-shelled nuts, but their husks typically split into four sections and their nutmeats are sweeter and less oily. Proper identification is relatively straightforward once you become familiar with the black walnut’s distinctive green husk and pungent aroma.
You are very likely to find black walnut trees in cities, towns, parks, and backyards, making this nut particularly valuable to urban foragers.
Harvesting and Processing Tips
Collecting
Black walnuts ripen in late September through October. The nuts fall from the tree inside thick green husks about the size of a tennis ball. Gather them quickly before squirrels and other wildlife make off with the crop.
Hulling
The green outer husk must be removed to reach the hard shell. Wear gloves as the husks contain juglone, a chemical that will stain your hands and clothing a dark brown. Some foragers stomp or roll them underfoot on a hard surface, while others slice the husk with a knife and peel it away.
Curing
Once hulled, rinse the nuts and spread them out in a single layer in a dry, airy spot. Allow them to cure for at least two weeks, ideally up to a month. This drying period hardens the shells and improves the flavor of the nutmeat.
Cracking
Black walnut shells are famously tough. A vise, hammer, or specialized black walnut cracker works best—regular nutcrackers rarely hold up. Once cracked, use a pick or small knife to tease out the nutmeat from the irregular chambers.
Specialized black walnut crackers are available for purchase online.
Storage
Keep extracted nutmeats in an airtight container in the freezer to prevent them from going rancid. Properly stored, they’ll keep for a year or more, ready for use in sweet or savory recipes.
Edibility:
The nuts of black walnut are fully edible and highly nutritious. They can be eaten raw, though most people prefer them toasted or incorporated into recipes where their assertive, slightly bitter flavor balances sweeter or richer ingredients. The flavor is more robust and woodsy than English walnuts, sometimes described as “smoky” or “wine-like,” making them an excellent complement to both desserts and savory dishes.
Black walnut is calorie-dense and packed with healthy fats, protein, and minerals. They are especially rich in omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, and magnesium. The nuts have been used for centuries in traditional foods ranging from cakes and ice cream to breads, sauces, and pestos. The only caveat for foragers is the work required: collecting, hulling, curing, and cracking are labor-intensive, but the yield is a uniquely wild flavor that’s impossible to mimic with store-bought walnuts.
Ten Recommended Uses
- Baking – Stir into breads, muffins, cookies, and cakes for a bold nutty flavor.
- Ice cream – Fold into custards or churn into homemade ice cream for a classic treat.
- Savory sauces – Blend into pestos, cream sauces, or gravies to serve with wild game.
- Nut oil – Press for a richly flavored oil used in salad dressings or drizzled over roasted vegetables.
- Candies and confections – Use in fudges, brittles, and pralines.
- Nut flours – Grind dried kernels into meal for baking or thickening.
- Pickled walnuts – Use immature green husks for traditional pickling recipes.
- Trail snacks – Roast and season for portable, energy-rich snacks.
- Pairing with cheese – Combine with sharp cheeses in spreads, boards, or stuffed pastries.
- Wild fermentation – Incorporate into nocinos, liqueurs, cordials, or infused spirits for a deep, nutty character.
