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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Mockernut Hickory questions

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  • From: "loneroc" <loneroc@mwt.net>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Mockernut Hickory questions
  • Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 13:48:07 -0600

The traditional (pre-Columbian) form of harvest for the nuts that were nearly impossible to shell, such as the Mockernut hickory and probably most of the hickories, was to pound them to a pulp, shells and all, add water, soak, and pour off the "milk".  If you ever get nuts off the thing try making nut milk.  You can drink it or use it for cooking.
 
This same technique is used in the Mediterranean kitchen to extract almond milk, and the south Asian kitchen for coconut "milk".  The clear liquid that pours out of cracked, ripe coconuts is more correctly referred to as the "water", not the milk as one so often hears.  Milk is the creamy liquid extracted fom the macerated coconut "flesh".
 
Steve Herje, Lone Rock, WI 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Mockernut Hickory questions

At 11:41 AM 3/17/2004 -0500, Uma wrote:
In clearing an area for apple trees, I found a nice Mockernut Hickory, about 5 ft. tall. I would like to transplant it, but am wondering - will it produce nuts by itself, or are there male/ female issues? If I move it, should I prune it? (it is so pretty how it is.) Can it be pruned to keep it small? Are the nuts tasty? I have no experience with these, and would appreciate advice.

A 5 ft mockernut is going to be pretty tough to dig out by hand, and is not going to take kindly to being uprooted at its relatively advanced age.  You can probably accomplish it, but don't expect significant growth out of it for a number of years - it won't do much more than leaf out until it gets a root system re-established.
In all likelihood, there are other hickories in the vicinity, close enough to provide adequate pollenation for it to produce nuts - but you may be waiting 10-40 years or so for it to do so. 
Pruning to keep it small would probably result in just keeping it in a vegetative, juvenile state, preventing it from maturing enough to begin fruiting.
The nuts are quite tasty, but with most specimens, the nut shell is so thick, with prominent internal ridges that trap the nutmeats, that It's barely worth the effort of trying to crack them out - you mostly get just small fragments of nut kernel.  Most I've sampled have a good, strong, hickory flavor, almost approaching the taste of black walnut.

Lucky Pittman
USDA Zone 6
Hopkinsville, KY


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