DAY 308: HICKER NUT HUNTIN'

In our part of Kentucky, an autumn harvest task is "hickory nut hunting". But most of us here in the country pronounce that as "Hicker nut huntin'".

Hickory nuts are small nuts that are plentiful here most years. The taste is the greatest - but the nuts are so small and it is so difficult to remove the fruits that I don't know of any commercial operation that even bothers with selling shelled hickory nuts.

Some people here in Central Kentucky gather hickory nuts to use in cakes and pies. But for me, those little shelled delicacies never made it that far...the only way I've ever had hickory nuts is just eating them fresh out of the shell. Crack them and eat them! I remember sitting on our back porch when we were kids...we all had big rocks in hand and we were all just sitting there cracking open those hickory nuts and eating them as we went. So good! 

If you want some hicker nuts, you have to know where to find them. This past Sunday afternoon, my husband knew just where to go...to Cloyd Brady's farm... 

  

 Stephen is asking Cloyd permission to hunt hickory nuts on his farm. Cloyd's telling him which trees have the best nuts.     

 Thanks, Cloyd! 

 Cloyd poses for me next to his nice white pickup truck before we go pick up nuts. 

 Above is the tree where I picked up hickory nuts that day. You can't really tell from looking at it that there are treats all over the ground, below. It was a shaggy barked tree...

Below are pictures of nuts as found on the ground under the tree. They were just everywhere! We left so many behind, even after picking up 4 gallon buckets full! The nuts are whitish, and they come out of those hulls you see there. I'm surprised all the squirrels left so many for us!

If you've never tasted Hickory Nuts, you really must put that on your bucket list. They are the greatest.