How to cook walnuts
Information for walnuts in our free cooking ingredients collection.
Walnuts
Walnut is the common name for about 20 species of deciduous trees that include the hickory and pecan tree. The two most common species are the black walnut and the English, also known as the Persian, walnut.
The fleshy green fruit of the black walnut encapsulates the nut and cushions it when it falls from the tree. Effort is required to pry the edible kernel from the nut’s thick, woody shell. The inside of the fruit may stain your hands.
The kernel of the English walnut, however, is more easily removed from its shell, which is generally thinner and easier to crack. In addition, the husks of English walnuts separate when the fruit is mature, allowing the nut to drop out. Partly for these reasons, the English walnut is the more commercially cultivated species.
Nutritionally, walnuts are an excellent source of phosphorus, zinc, copper, and thiamin and a good source of iron and potassium. More than 70 percent of the fat comes from polyunsaturated fat.
How to cook walnuts
Walnuts purchased in the shell should be free of cracks or holes. Shelled nuts should be plump, meaty, and crisp. Unshelled walnuts can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months. Shelled kernels can be refrigerated in a tightly covered container for up to 6 months. Shelling walnuts can be difficult, but commercially shelled walnuts are readily available. Toasting walnuts enhances their flavor, helps maintain crispness, and makes them easier to chop.
Serving suggestions
Walnuts are a versatile cooking ingredient that can be added to salads, pilafs, cookies, muffins, breads, cakes, and ice cream. Whole young nuts can be pickled in vinegar.
Walnuts also can be pressed to make an oil that is typically used in salads. Walnuts also have a variety of nonculinary uses. The shells are used as an antiskid agent for tires and as blasting grit. Ground nutshells are sometimes added to commercial spices as a filler.
- Soy products
- Dairy foods
- Milk
- Soy and rice milk
- Dried and concentrated milks
- Cream and sour cream
- Cheese
- Fresh cheeses
- Semisoft cheeses
- Goat cheeses
- Soft, white-rind cheeses
- Blue or blue-veined cheeses
Previous ingredients
The best free cooking ingredients collection online!
Many thanks for visiting cooking-ingredients.com! Be sure to bookmark us and come back soon. We are always adding new, free cooking ingredients to our collection! Please tell your friends about cooking-ingredients.com!
Other great recipes sites