Saturday, September 26, 2009

Pecans, Our Latest Harvest

The pecans have been falling from the trees, and every few days I go out and collect some. The squirrels have also been busy, and our two dogs love to crunch on a few as well. With five mature trees, there's really plenty enough for us all!

For the last few years we didn't have a harvest due to drought and wind storms, but this has been a good year. The nuts are good-sized due to plenty of rain.

I wish you all could taste these nuts in all their rich, full, smoky sweetness. As anyone with access to old trees knows, there is much more flavor in the nuts they produce compared to ones you may buy at the grocery or even fancy nut houses. The reason is that commercial pecans have been bred for size, and in that pursuit some of the flavor has been lost.

When the weather turns cold, I'll sit and shell them, then freeze most for later use. But right now aren't the bright green husks beautiful?

7 comments:

BlenderBach said...

how awesome! I'd love to have some fresh pecans :D

Pamela Zimmerman said...

so cool! I wish i had pecan trees! It is a taste from my childhood, for sure...makes me think of my grandmother. She was the champion sheller!

Sunbasilgarden said...

I'm glad I found your blog. What a great post...wish we had a tree. Love how you said there is plenty to go around.

sunbasilgarden.etsy.com

madge1967 said...

Oh,,,,,
I sure miss my mom's peacon trees so much! I remember when I used to pick them as a kid and my mom loved for me to climb up into the tree and shake the branches!!!
I miss it so much!
Melissa
Oh, My dollhouse mini doll finally got her neckless by your "Flicker" mini charms!. I put a off-tan one around her neck.
M

Fancy said...

very cool...they sound yummy!

Anonymous said...

I'm very sad to say that our lovely, old pecan tree was lost during Hurricane Rita. Also, Ike and Rita decimated the local pecan farm in town. I HATE that. Nothing says Christmas/fall (to me) like pecan pralines!

Mulchandmore said...

How nice, my question is can the green husks be used as a natural dye like the black walnut hulls around here?