Content

• Steps
• Tips

Hickory nuts are the fruit of the hickory tree. Hickory is a deciduous tree of the Kariya genus and the walnut family. There are more than 16 varieties of hickory trees. All types of trees have a similar foliage structure, a straight and narrow trunk, usually these trees reach 30 m in height and are distinguished by relatively large fruits. Each type of hickory has its own unique characteristics of size, shape, color, skin thickness and flavor. For this reason, it is important to examine each constituent part of the hickory nut in order to correctly identify its type. Our tips will help you find out what kind of hickory is in front of you.

Steps

1. 1 Consider the outer woody skin. If the fruit is still young, the shell is greenish, which eventually changes to a dark brown color before falling from the tree. The shell cracks at the base when the fruit (nut) is fully ripe, although there are species in which the shell partially restrains the fruit, even after the shell is split. Depending on the type of fruit, the shell thickness varies from 2 to 9 mm.
2. 2 Measure the shell with a ruler. When the nut is separated from the shell, its dimensions can be from 13 mm to 6.5 cm in length and width, depending on the species.
3. 3 Nuts are round, heart-shaped, oblong, or slightly flattened.
4. 4 Try the pulp of the nut. Some species of hickory trees produce fruits with a sweet, edible pulp. Other fruits have a bitter taste and are not suitable for consumption.
5. 5 Note that these fruits are protected by a stringy, dense shell, which often makes it difficult to extract the pulp from it.

Tips

• The texture of the walnut should be smooth with few veins or uneven with grooves.
• Use the information you already know about the shell and flesh of the nut to determine the type of hickory nut.
  • Caria ovoid (Hickory shaggy). This type of tree grows faster and in greater numbers than other types of hickory, which is why they are the most common. The fruits grow singly or in pairs. They can reach 3-5 cm in length and are not as wide as other species. The brown shell is of medium thickness, it breaks easily and inside there is a light brown, heart-shaped, dense, thin-skinned fruit. The nut kernel is brown in color with a sweet taste.
  • Caria North Carolinian. The shell of this species reaches 3-9 mm in width, the shell is even, ovoid, relatively thin and easy to split. The flesh of this fruit is light brown in color and has a sweet taste.
  • The hickory is bitter. The shell of this nut can reach 2-4 cm in length. The nut is round, light brown in color, with a thin yellowish skin. The kernel of this type of nut tastes bitter, as its name suggests.
  • The hickory is naked. The naked hazel fruits reach 2.5 cm in length and 2 cm in width. The shell is thin, dark brown in color, it rarely breaks by itself, so it is easier to crack the shell with your hands. The fruit itself is pear-shaped, smooth, with a thick skin, gray-brown in color. The pulp with a bitter-fresh taste.
  • Caria is oval. This nut measures 3 cm long and 2 cm wide. Dark brown shell, 2 mm thick, easily split, inside it are light brown smooth fruits with a thin shell. The pulp of the nut is small in size, with a sweet taste.
  • Large shaggy hickory (king nut). The fruit of this tree is the largest of all species, reaching 4.5-6.5 cm in length and 3.8 cm in width. The oval shell of the king's nut is very thick, light brown in color, with small grooves. Due to the fact that the shell is so thick, the fruit has little pulp. But the pulp itself has a sweetish aftertaste.
  • Sandy hickory (hazel pale). This species bears the smallest fruits (13 -33 mm in length). The shell is light brown, partially cracked, inside it is a smooth oval fruit, light in color, with a slight bloom, the fruit is small. The core of the fruit is sweet.
  • Felt hickory. The fruits of this tree are one of the largest species, reaching from 3.8-5 cm in length, with a thick shell (3-6 mm). The shell is smooth, rectangular, red-brown in color. The pulp is good for food, with a sweet taste, but it is difficult to remove, due to the thickness of the shell.