Obviously the grooves are for “runoff” of something.
Native American Indians enjoyed black walnuts long before Europeans arrived, using walnut tree sap in their food preparation and making dye from the nut husks. Archeological evidence in the upper Great Lakes region indicates walnut consumption dating back to 2000 BC.
The husks that protect nuts grown from black walnut trees were used by Cherokee Native Americans for cloth-dyeing purposes. Black walnut husks' dye color is yellow when it's ripe, but turns black as the fruit deteriorates. The nuts inside the black walnut's husks are edible and were an important source of nutrition for early American colonists. This tree is found throughout the eastern United States to the Great Plains of Nebraska and Kansas. At maturity, the black walnut tree can reach heights of up 150 feet.
Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_7529284_native-american-plants-dyes.html#ixzz2nTQDGyyb
http://www.gardenguides.com/129100-black-walnut-trees-native-wisconsin.html
http://www.phancypages.com/newsletter/ZNewsletter538.htm
What to do with Black Walnut Shells and Hulls©
|
By Arlene Correll
I recently received an email from a gal named Sandy
in Peewee Valley, KY inquiring about the uses of Black walnut shells.
Well Sandy, one of the things you can do is to make
dye. Black walnut (Juglans
nigra), or nut hulls can be used to make a dye.
If you are a basket maker you can use this dye to color your
baskets or splint materials. Walnut shells produce a brown color as do
Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata Mill.)
Pecan (Carya illinoensis) hulls are also good and pecans
produce a red/orange color.
|
 |
| A little history tells us that walnuts are the fruit of the Juglans regia, (also J. nigra for the black walnut), a Latin contraction of Jovis glans meaning regal nut of Jupiter or nut of "the Gods." Ancients believed the gods dined on walnuts, hence regia or regal. Origin of the term walnut has debatable origins. Some scholars say the term derives from the Teutonic German wallnuss or welsche nuss and others from the Anglo-Saxon word wealth meaning foreign or alien and hnutu meaning nut. |
|
It's difficult to trace the native home of the
walnut tree, but ancient Romans believe it originated in Persia. Early
cultivation spanned from southeastern Europe to Asia Minor to the
Himalayas. Greek usage of walnut oil dates back to the fourth century
B.C., nearly a century before the Romans. Franciscan priests brought the
walnut to California, USA around 1770. The oil of the nut has been used
for centuries in the preparation of fine paints for artists.
Also you could do what the Romans did with them,
i.e. throw them to wedding guests for good luck.
If you have sheep and shear, card and spin your own
wool, you can use these dyes to color your yarn or really just about
anything. Just remember
when you wash anything you have dyed, wash it separately as the colors
will run. To dye one pound of fiber, use four gallons of water per
pound of dyestuff. Dyed items always lighten when dried. Be sure to dry
fabric in the shade. To lighten or darken colors, decrease or increase
the quantity of dyestuff. Also, experiment with the amount of time the
fabric is left in the dye solution. Gently squeeze out excess moisture
from fabric before hanging it to dry. Never wring fabric, or the dye
will streak. By adding mordant, which is alum (4 tablespoons you will
achieve a golden brown dye. If
you omit the mordant, your dye will be light brown.
When dying wool then the following is a good rule
to follow.
When working with cotton, always wash cotton fabric
before dyeing. Dye while
fabric is still wet (placing dry fabric in the dye may cause uneven
dyeing)
If you are a wood worker you can stain your woods
with this dye.
If you are fortunate enough to have a Black Walnut
tree or have access to one, allow nuts to ripen on the tree. The husk
changes from solid green to yellowish green when ripe. Press on the skin
of the walnut with your thumb. Ripe nuts show an indentation.
One gathers the large nuts in the fall, usually in
September to mid-October. The dye is made from the husks, not the nuts
themselves. You can save the nuts to process and use for other purposes
if you like, but that does require extra effort. Remove the husks by
cutting or crushing them off. If you have no need for the nutmeats, the
whole nuts can be soaked to render the dye. Wear rubber gloves and
protect surfaces to avoid splatters, as the dye will stain permanently
if it comes into contact with something you didn't intend to dye. (I
know of one woman who used to drive her car over the black walnuts to
crush the shells.)
If you have the time and inclination, do save the
nuts for cooking as Black Walnuts are not only good tasting, they
are also good for you. They are low in saturated fats, have no
cholesterol, and are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats
(the good fats) which can lower "bad" cholesterol levels (LDL)
without damaging good cholesterol (HDL).
Black Walnuts also contain iron, minerals and fiber, and contain no sugar. They provide the nutritional benefits of tree nuts that are enjoyed in the now-popular and healthy Mediterranean diets.
Walnuts discolor when stored with husks attached
and their flavor is ruined. Remember to wear gloves when removing husks
because dye from the husks stains. Remove husks by applying pressure to
the nut's ends. Pound side to side with a hammer while wearing safety
glasses. Husks also can be softened in a container of water, then
peeled. A third alternative is to place nuts in a hand-operated corn
Sheller.
After hulling, rinse the nuts, preferably outdoors
since nuts stain. Next, check for insect feeding by placing the nuts in
water. Nuts without injury will sink.
For those of you, who compost, please remember
this. Do not compost walnut
husks. Juglone, a chemical released by walnut trees, is toxic to some
vegetables and plants.
If you are going to save the nuts and eat them
please follow the curing directions.
Curing--The
nuts must be cured. This prepares them for storage and allows flavor to
develop. Stack the clean, hulled nuts in layers two or three nuts deep.
Place them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, out of direct sunlight
for two weeks. When nuts are dry enough to store, kernels break with a
sharp snap. If cured improperly, mold forms.
After curing, store unshelled nuts in a
well-ventilated area at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Cloth bags or
wire baskets discourage mold. Keep the relative humidity fairly high,
about 70 percent.
To shell nuts, soak them in hot water for 24 hours.
Drain and soak again for two more hours. Cover the nuts with moist
cloths until you're ready to crack the shells. Bake nuts at 215 degrees
Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. If stored at room temperature, use within a
few weeks. Shelled nuts can be refrigerated up to nine months. They can
be frozen for up to two years.
There are many different ways to make your dye and
here is a step by step recipe for one of them.
One could make black walnut tincture which can be
used for many things. However, you would need an herbal tincture press.
I have read that the tincture is good for many things, such as
fungus. Use externally and apply frequently.
Black walnut tincture can be applied on itching skin. This
works especially well if the irritation is due to a fungus or similar
invasion. It is also supposed to be good for lice and to build up
potassium as for cysts and tumors.
Also mixed with parsley, wormwood and ground cloves, one can make
a pretty good pet parasite cleaner.
If you do not have an herbal tincture press, you
might try the following to make your own Black Walnut Hull Tincture.
Again, in the fall, gather green hulls from the Black Walnut tree
before they drop. Peel them (wear gloves as they stain) and place into a
½ gallon glass jar. Fill the jar as much as you want to and cover with
alcohol. You can use any 40% proof or more alcohol: Vodka, whiskey etc.
Let stand for 2-3 weeks and strain.
Used by Asians and American Indians, Black Walnut
Bark has been used to expel various kinds of worms; used to kill
ringworms and tapeworms.
|
|
Here is a recipe for Black Walnut Shea
Soap
Ingredients:
|
 |
Directions:
Grate a 4 oz bar of soap (salad shooter works
nicely, or for finer shavings, use a potato peeler). Put some soap
shavings into an 8 oz container. Add shea butter, olive oil, and liquid
soap as desired. Mix well with a fork or whatever you have to mush it
all together - add in exfoliate (walnut shell powder) Add
more soap while mixing together to get desired consistency - I prefer a
thick, almost creamy mixture. Put in the shower. Scoop and rub in
circular motion to gently exfoliate and massage all while cleaning and
moisturizing!!!
Black Walnut facial scrub
-
1/4 cup plain yogurt
-
1/4 cup black walnuts (very finely grounded)
Mix ingredients together. Wet your face then gently
work the scrub into your skin. Rinse off with warm water. Keep excess in refrigerator.
Grinding up the black walnut shells will result in
Walnut Grit and it is used as an abrasive material to blast paint off
surfaces and is mixed in paints that are used on surfaces near water,
such as floors around a pool or on a dock. The texture of the grit stops
the surface from being slippery and keeps people from falling.
Black Walnut Ink
-
black walnut hulls (not the shells themselves, but the squishy outer coverings)
-
water
-
salt
-
vinegar
-
old sauce pan
-
fine cheesecloth
-
bottle with tight-fitting lid
NOTE: You may want to wear latex gloves while
making this ink, to avoid stained fingers. Vinegar and salt will corrode
your nibs; be aware and experiment with the ink without the salt &
vinegar, or in lesser proportion.
Crush
ten walnut hulls into small pieces with a hammer. Put into a sauce pan
(one that you probably don't want) and cover with boiling water. Simmer
until the water becomes dark brown.
Add
2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons vinegar to make it permanent. Strain
through cheesecloth into your storage bottle. Keep tightly capped. You
will end up with about 3 oz. of brownish-yellow ink, which may need to
sit to allow sediment to settle. You will get the best results if you
crush the hulls, throw them (still containing the nuts) into a pan of
water and allow them to soak for as long as you can bear to wait-- the
longer the better, as you can keep them soaking indefinitely-- then
boiling the whole mess.
A little more basic information: For medicinal purposes the Nut, Leaves, Bark, rind of the
Fruit are used.
The leaves are used for iodine. Also the leaves are used as an alterative [an agent capable
of favorably altering or changing unhealthy conditions of the body and
tending to restore normal bodily function, usually by improving
nutrition] and an astringent [a binding agent that contracts organic
tissue, reducing secretions or discharges of mucous and fluid from the
body]. Plus they are used as a detergent [an agent that cleanses
wounds and sores of diseased or dead matter].
Finally the leaves are used as a laxative [an agent promoting
evacuation of the bowels; a mild purgative]
The bark can be used as alterative [an agent
capable of favorably altering or changing unhealthy conditions of the
body and tending to restore normal bodily function, usually by improving
nutrition], or as an astringent [a binding agent that contracts organic
tissue, reducing secretions or discharges of mucous and fluid from the
body], or as a
laxative [an agent promoting evacuation of the bowels; a
mild purgative] or purgative [an agent that produces a vigorous emptying
of the bowels, more drastic than a laxative or aperient]. It can also be used as a styptic [an agent that contracts
tissues; astringent; specifically,
and a hemostatic agent that stops bleeding by contracting the
blood vessels]
vermifuge [an agent to expel parasitic worms, especially of
the intestines]
The rind can be used
as a hepatic [a drug that acts on the liver] or as a sudorific
(when green) [an agent that promotes or increases perspiration].
A strong decoction of walnut leaves, painted around
doorways and woodwork, will repel ants and the green husks make a yellow
dye that is often used in hair dyes and in dyes for wood for furniture.
Well, Sandy, hopefully this information will be of
some help to you. Working
with Black Walnut shells and husks is pretty hard work.
The nut meats are hard to get out, but their fine taste is worth
the effort. Perhaps working with all the rest of the shells and hulls
will give you a lot of satisfaction. Just be careful how you decide to
use any of this information.
About
the author,
Arlene
Wright-Correll (1935-
), free lance writer, award winning artist and avid gardener is
mother of 5 and the grandmother of 8.
For almost 40 years she was an International real estate
consultant and during the last 20 years of her career traveled to many
parts of the world. She
has been a cancer and stroke survivor since 1992.
While working and raising her children she had many hobbies
including being a very serious home-vintner for approximately 14 years
while residing in upstate New York in St. Lawrence County producing
2,000 to 3,000 bottles of wine a year.
She was the president of the St. Lawrence County chapter of the
American Wine Society in
Potsdam
,
NY
. During
that time she wrote a Home Vintner column for the Courier Freeman and
the Canton Plain Dealer. In
1975 her hearty burgundy won first place at the annual American Wine
Society meeting in
Toledo
,
Ohio
. This
home vintner created many formulas or recipes for not only still wine,
but sparkling wine and beer. She
enjoyed the friendship and fellowship that was created by working with
other home vintners during those years. She is an avid gardener, an
artist, and a free lance writer of many topics including, but not
limited to “The ABC’s of
Making Wine and Beer©” by Arlene Wright-Correll
this jam packed information CD includes 15 chapters on how
to make your own wine and beer. This CD has loads of tried and true
recipes, easy instructions, equipment identifying photos and it
includes three bonus articles “How to Host a Wine Tasting Party”,
“How to Build an Underground Wine Cellar” and “ Everything You
Wanted to Know about Wine, but Were Afraid to Ask”.
This $19.95 value is on sale today for only $14.95 at http://www.cafepress.com/arlene_correll/1063470
may your day be filled with...
Peace, Light, and Love,
Arlene Wright-Correll
No comments:
Post a Comment
Drop a comment here.