[1] Black walnuts: beautiful, but with an extremely hard shell that requires a special nutcracker (photos #1 and #2 © American Black Walnut Marketing Board).

[2] The fleshy green outer covering is called the husk or shuck.(photos #2 and #3.

[3] The best source for black walnuts online is Hammons (remaining photos © Hammons Products Company).

[4] You don’t have to cook or bake to add black walnuts to a salad…

[5] …or to granola….

[6] …or to a charcuterie board.

[7] Black walnut pesto. Here’s the recipe.

May 17th is National Walnut Day. Walnuts may be the healthiest of the seven heart-healthy nuts. Here’s the scoop.

The conventional walnut in the U.S. is the English walnut (also called the Persian walnut*). But what about that other, little-known, wild American walnut, the walnut?

The taxonomical difference is in the footnote* below.

> The history of walnuts.
 
 
BLACK WALNUTS

Most of us know little or nothing about the American black walnut. Growing wild in Missouri and much of the eastern U.S., they were a part of many indigenous peoples’ diets at one time.

These days, they’re below the radar, cultivated in just a few states. More expensive to produce than the standard English walnut, black walnuts have become a specialty item for those in the know.

In addition to the expense of production, there is less meat per nut, as you can see in photo #2.

Another reason they fell out of favor: Black walnuts are truly a hard nut to crack, sporting extremely hard shells. Cracking black walnuts by hand can also result in stained hands.

But fear not: Commercial growers use large steel wheels to crack the nuts.

While subject to irrigation and some mechanical harvesting, the trees themselves are uncultivated—they have not been modified in any way over the years. American black walnuts truly are the wild cousin† of the cultivated English walnut.

The American Black Walnut Marketing Board is hoping that more outreach will convince people to try them.
 
 
Why use black walnuts when there are plenty of English walnuts available?

For the flavor!

Black walnuts have a heartier, earthier, more robust taste than English walnuts, and you’ll notice the difference as soon as you taste one.

They showed themselves brilliantly in the Toll House Cookie recipe, which is a favorite in our house.

We’ve been happily using them to replace English walnuts everywhere.

However, because the flavor is different, you can’t count on substituting them 1:1 in recipes for baking and cooking, without affecting the recipe outcome.

It’s best to start with tested recipes from black walnut websites like the American Black Walnut Marketing Board and Hammons .
 
 
For the nutrition!

We’d prefer them even if they weren’t more nutritious—and given the nutrition of English walnuts, that’s a lot of extra nutrition!

 
 
SWEET WALNUT RECIPES

 
 
________________

*The tree originated in the Middle East and these Persian walnuts became known as English walnuts. That’s because English merchant ships would trade them around the world, so they became commonly known as English walnuts. The English walnut and the Persian walnut are the same walnuts [source].

†All walnuts are members of the order Fagales an order of trees and shrubs, in the family Juglandaceae, the plant family known as the walnut family. The genus is Juglans, and that’s where the two walnuts split off. The Persian or English walnut is Juglans regia. The black walnut, also known as the American black walnut and the Eastern black walnut, is Juglans nigra. Here’s more about taxonomy, the branch of science concerned with the classification of organisms. The Latin name, Juglans, derives from Jovis glans, “Jupiter’s acorn”—figuratively, a nut fit for a god.

There are 21 species in the genus that range across the north temperate Old World from southeast Europe east to Japan, and more widely in the New World from southeast Canada west to California and south to Argentina.

There are five native walnut species in North America: black walnut, butternut, Arizona walnut and two species in California. The two most commonly found walnuts found in native locations are the black walnut and butternut [source].

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It’s American Craft Beer Week, celebrating the more than 6,600 U.S. independent craft brewers*. If you needed an excuse to explore new beers, the second full week in May is it!

When you’re shopping for craft beer, book for the Independent Craft Brewer Seal (on all photos).

The seal indicates that the beer was brewed by an independent U.S. craft brewery.

It tells you that you’re supporting a small business, which in turn supports your community† by providing jobs, sales that keep more money circulating in the local economy, the resulting tax revenue, and more.
 
 
LOOK FOR THE SEAL

Buy local and drink great beer.

The Independent Craft Brewer Seal was launched in 2017. The design is a classic beer bottle shape flipped upside down.

The seal indicates that a brewery is certified to be independently owned. It now appears on the bottles of more than 80% of the volume of craft brewed beer.

What About Your Regular Brand?

You may be accustomed to drinking beer brands owned by large multinational corporations, but give the little guys a chance.

Craft beers are more complex, and more interesting.

Craft beers have a richer and more distinctive taste than mass-produced beer.

Craft brewers tend to be very passionate about their beer. They invest time and energy to maintain and improve the quality of their beers.

Large national and international beers, on the other hand, focus on generating more and more sales, via huge marketing campaigns, distributor and retailer deals.

Not All “Craft Beer” Is Craft Beer!

An article on the 15 most popular craft beer brands in the U.S. lists many that are not small brewers.

That’s not surprising, since the owners of these brands have the money to ratchet up sales.

 
Try A New Craft Beer Brand

“Drink outside your comfort zone,” says the Brewers Association, the trade association for brewers.

“Flip your “brew-tine,” they suggest (that’s a play on “flip your routine”—we had to read it twice).

Celebrate the creativity of small and independent breweries. Try new brands and different beer styles.

And if you’re already a craft beer fan, there are plenty of other brands waiting for you to try.

How About This Weekend?

This weekend, maybe get together with a group of friends for a potluck craft beer celebration.

Or, visit a brewery. Use this Brewery Finder to locate a brewpub or taproom near you. Most Americans live within 10 miles of a craft brewery.

Stay for a pint or grab and go some of the specialties.

CraftBeer.com

Check the Brewers Association website, CraftBeer.com, for great articles, written by beer lovers for beer lovers. Learn more and discover new beers and brands on CraftBrew.com

There are also plenty of recipes for cooking with beer.

No time to visit the website? Sign up for the newsletter!
 
 

[1] A pint glass with the Independent Craft Brewer Seal (all photos © Brewers Association).

[2] The logo on a beer bottle from Mast Landing Brewing Company, a craft brewer in Maine.

[3] The seal can have a white or color background.

[4] Take home a six-pack of bottles…

[6] …or a six-pack of cans.

*The Brewers Association, a trade organization of beer brewers, defines “craft brewer” as a small, independent, traditional brewer. Specifically, annual production is 6 million barrels of beer or less. Also, the brewer must be less than 25% owned or controlled by an alcohol industry member that is not itself defined as a craft brewer. By contrast, Bud Light, America’s best-selling beer, shipped 27.2 million barrels in 2019.

†Even if you buy craft beer brewed in another locale, you’re still supporting a community business, as opposed to a multinational corporation with no roots.

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[1] Top a pizza with your favorite antipasto ingredients (photo © DeLallo).

[2] You can add antipasto meats to the vegetarian recipe below. In photo: sweet soppressata, hot soppressata, Genoa salami, prosciutto (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] Provolone, a classic Italian cheese, often served cubed on an antipasto platter (photo © Castello Cheese).

[4] We prefer the pepper bite of arugula to spinach (photo © Good Eggs).

There are currently 12 pizza holidays in the U.S. (see the list below). The third Friday in May is National Pizza Party Day. You’ve got a few days to plan your pizza party.

It can be as simple as a homemade pizza at home with store-bought dough.

Check out the recipe below for Antipasto Pizza, is vegetarian as shown (photo #1), but can have added prosciutto or other Italian cured meat (photo #2).

Not to mention, 50 more pizza recipes to suit every palate.

> The history of pizza.

> Pizza trends in the U.S.
 
 
RECIPE: ANTIPASTO PIZZA

DeLallo made this pizza using fresh spinach, their Italian-Style Pizza Sauce, dough from their DeLallo Pizza Dough Kit, and Provolini Antipasti, a jarred medley of cubes of provolone cheese, tender button mushrooms, black and green olives, and sweet red peppers, in canola oil.

We preferred to use the ingredients we had on hand: pitted black Nicoise and pitted green Castelvetrano olives, a jar of roasted red peppers, and fresh mushrooms.

And while the original recipe called for baby spinach, we preferred the peppery bite of baby arugula.

You can also use Italian antipasto meats: prosciutto, soppressata, and different types of salame.

To spread the flavor, cut them into strips.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 450˚F. Shape the pizza dough for a thin crust. Place on a greased baking sheet or pizza pan and bake for 5 minutes.

2. REMOVE from the oven and top with sauce, cheese, and antipasto ingredients. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

3. TOP with fresh arugula or spinach leaves and serve.
 
 
THE YEAR IN PIZZA HOLIDAYS

Whether you get a takeout pizza, go to a restaurant, or make your own, mark your calendars for:

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