It's pecan season here in Texas, and a dear friend down the road has pecan trees, and I have a pecan cracker. This is a match made in heaven! I picked up three burlap bags (locally known as "croaker sacks")and a basket of pecans from her on Monday. I've been cracking and picking out pecans, and have three quart freezer bags and a bunch of pecan shells for the compost heap, and I'm not even one-third through the pecans. This is my cracker, which was made of boiler plate by a gentleman in Oklahoma. He ought to patent it! Pecan cracking ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) The pecans go in the hopper in the back, and as you rotate the handle the two boiler plates crack the nuts which fall through the chute into a bowl. The distance between the two plates is adjusted by a turn nut, which allows you to crack big pecans, and then adjust for the smaller ones. I dearly love this cracker, almost as much as I love having lots and lots of pecans for pies, cookies, and just toasting and eating!
OH MG!! What I would DO for all those fresh pecans! They are my most used nut in baking and they are SO expensive to buy here. I saw a small bag at the store the other day and they wanted $15!!
I love that cracker! My pecan trees were hit hard by worms this year. They still produced a few nuts, but most aren't any good. So I'm not even going to worry about them and just let the squirrels eat what they want. :'(
I'm jealous because I love pecans and they are the only nut I use. Pretty spendy out here too Since they grow hazlenuts in Oregon I'd like to use more of those but at the cost I just don't like them as much as the pecans :-o
Pecans are one of the things I miss most. We had 2 natives and a paper shell tree growing in our yard. I thought the natives had better taste but DH said he couldn't tell them apart. I didn't like the mess though and wished they had been outside the lawn area. I sure enjoyed the pecans though and stock up when ever we visit.
Keep a sharp lookout Jane for a 6'2" tall blonde guy. My youngest son can smell pecans no matter how far away they are. You'll not get a chance to rescue even a few if he sniffs your lot out. Just don't shoot him if you manage to spot him as he's my computer geek.
around here we use Walnuts because they are cheaper than the pecans but some recipes you need the pecans and I do pay the high price for them...but they are oh so good! I had a friend that used to crack hickory nuts and pick the meats out and sell them. For those of you that don't know about hickory nuts, they are a small nut and not very easy to pick clean.
Sherry, your post about hickory nuts brought back happy memories. When I was about 8 or 9, daddy and his brother (Uncle Dutch) decided I was old enough to go hickory nutting in the Wabash River bottoms and not fall in, or if I did, I could swim. I cleaned a swath of the river bank of hickory nuts--excited about being allowed to go with them, and also being closer to the ground than daddy and uncle. Uncle Dutch had brought sandwiches for lunch and Daddy the "liquid refreshment". That was my first taste of beer. I only got a sip or two, but decided that I'd wait a few years to try it again!
I definitely agree with 'LOVE THOSE PECANS'... I have 3 older trees and 1 younger in my yard at the Alabama Homestead.. Tho' I have to be fairly diligent to harvest a good supply for my use because I also have plenty of squirrels and a few squirrelly relatives who beat me to them.. I kind of have a trade-off with the squirrels; my little .410 shotgun helps turn them into 'squirrel w/gravy over rice' which tastes almost as good as pecan pie to me... Love ya, Hank..
I bought pecans in Georgia. OUCH! They are so good. I also have 3 hickory trees in my yard. But the squirrels get most of them.
We sold our place in Texas 2 1/2 years ago and I made sure I had plenty of pecans in the freezer. Even after this long they still taste good!
I am way almost half across the globe and I love pecans too ... the price unimaginable. Marlingardener this is the first time I see a pecan nut cracker, thanks for sharing.
I still have pecans (shelled and unshelled) in the freezer from two years ago when I had gallons and gallons. Last fall was too dry to get any this year, dead ones have been falling all over the yard since early May, this fall is super dry too so I will have to stretch my stash out at least another two years.
