Thread: Walnuts and prickly pear fruit

Sometimes it is a lot of work getting things to eat from the wild. Went to a Amish town and they had hickory nut pies. Had to have been a lot of work getting enougj meat out of hickory nuts to make a pie. At times the squirrels even abandon them before they have all the meat out of the hull.

Talking about time involved with food. My grandfather passed away last year and for many many years I helped crack pecans with him. He had an automatic pecan cracker and I was the one that would feed the machine. My grandfather would then spend days finishing them and cleaning them up before putting in the freezer. Then I would crack a bunch more. On and on it went until the very last pecan. I appreciate that time more than anything now. He left me the cracker and pecan equipment when he passed away and last year was the first year on my own. I wasn't able to get them all done before bugs overtook them. I sure do miss my grandfather and those special times together.

Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Well that sounds interesting. Lots of work in that fruit huh?

can be , rattlesnakes and such often lie in wait when the fruit is ripe and the thorns are coming at ya from several directions too .
cactus spines hurt , but that there baby spine "fur" stuff will make you just itch and burn when it gets on ya .
sometimes you pull that stuff out of your skin and clothes for a few days after you walk thru it .
we don't mess with it ourselves , to much work of for us ,some other folks picked all them in the photo and had a half a 5 gallon beside it too .....

Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Talking about time involved with food. My grandfather passed away last year and for many many years I helped crack pecans with him. He had an automatic pecan cracker and I was the one that would feed the machine. My grandfather would then spend days finishing them and cleaning them up before putting in the freezer. Then I would crack a bunch more. On and on it went until the very last pecan. I appreciate that time more than anything now. He left me the cracker and pecan equipment when he passed away and last year was the first year on my own. I wasn't able to get them all done before bugs overtook them. I sure do miss my grandfather and those special times together.

The folks had peacan trees before they moved. Sure depends on which variety ya had as to how much work they are. I have shelled a bunch of them.

native pecans are some work for sure , we like the big ole golf ball looking variety , burkett or cherokee i think they call them ?
moist and meaty and the shell aint a rock ,papershell are dry and thin and not our speed much .

One thing I can say for those native peacans. They may have been small and tougher to shell. They were moist/oily and had a great flavor.
Pretty highly prized by people and the tree rats

Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

One thing I can say for those native peacans. They may have been small and tougher to shell. They were moist/oily and had a great flavor.
Pretty highly prized by people and the tree rats

them cherokee or burkett ones are the same flavor / moisture and 3 times the meat and easy to open , just saying