I asked Jacob Basecke his favorite way to eat black walnuts. Understandably, he had more then one answer.
"Ice cream and breads and cakes and pies, but you can use them in savory applications like, um, salads and, and sweet potato dishes and wild rice dishes. I mean, you know, there's like a full range, as far as my favorite, it has to be black walnut banana bread." A classic choice.
Basecke is the fourth-generation COO of Hammons Black Walnuts. They’ve been collecting, hulling and shelling black walnuts in Stockton, Missouri since 1946.
"Black walnuts are native to North America," he explained "but specifically right here in the Midwest. So, it's a local regional ingredient. They have a distinct flavor, very different than regular walnuts. We kind of describe it as a bold, earthy, robust, even a fruity like flavor, but really, really unique."
Basecke said another thing that makes black walnuts special is they’re almost entirely wild. As fall settles in and the tennis ball like fruits start falling, thousands of foragers across the Midwest head out to help collect the nuts that Hammons processes. Basecke said they expect an average harvest this year, about 14 million pounds.
He said foraging gets people out in nature, and instills good work ethic. "So, what you'll typically see is a family. Grandparents, grandkids, you know, they'll go out on an October weekend and they'll collect black walnuts. And, you know it's a great opportunity to create memories."
Now that it's gotten a bit cooler and a few storms have passed through, its prime harvest season.
Collectors bring their foraged walnuts to 165 buying stations spread across 12 states in the Midwest, but Basecke says a majority of the harvest comes from nearby in the Missouri Ozarks. The fruits are hulled and the nuts are weighed. Foragers are paid by the pound for their effort, and the nuts move on to Hammons' facility in Stockton, where they are dried, shelled and processed into the nut meats that reach store shelves.
Hammons also processes their own products, making things like walnut butters and walnut treats, and they sell to other businesses. He tells me about 40% of their volume goes into ice cream.
The bold flavor of black walnuts has been an ice cream staple for years. It was one of the original 31 flavors at Baskin Robbin's. In Springfield, Hiland Dairy recently worked with Hammons to put a new twist on the classic flavor with a blend called Ozark Harvest Crunch. Hiland’s Marketing Manager Sarah Saucedo Carey said It calls forth nostalgia for anyone who grew up with black walnuts but also aims to introduce a new audience to the local forgeable.
"So that is a vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls and then Hammonds candied black walnuts because black walnuts, you know, it has a somewhat bitter taste to it, It's a very bold flavor that maybe some people aren't used to " she explained. "Ozarks is in our roots and in our blood as a company and Hammons, not being too far away from Springfield and still in the Ozarks, they're a natural partner for us to really bring, Ozark traditional flavors to consumers."
Basecke says they've seen new audiences emerging and growing interest in black walnuts as people have sought out protein rich, simple, healthy, natural and local foods. They are also hoping to attract newcomers to the region and introduce them to a good excuse to get out and enjoy the weather.
"One thing that we're trying to instill is especially people that aren't from the Ozarks. Maybe they moved in here, didn't grow up here, getting them to participate and join in on this, this unique thing. Nowhere else in the world is doing this."
Hammons will be collecting contributions until November 16. Then they'll spend months processing the nuts. The spent shells will be sold and used in a wide array of industries, including as a nonabrasive powder for sandblasting. That could be a whole additional story.
In researching and talking to people about this story though, I found people were very familiar with black walnuts. They shared stories about collecting them by the truckload, and sometimes just enough for a pie at home. One person shared an old photo with a note that they collected 3,000 pounds that year. Others shared their favorite local black walnut product, ice creams of course. It's also used in beer and spirits brewed and distilled in the state, some shared personal uses for the hull and shells they've come up with, including in dyes and tinctures.
Everyone seemed to have a black walnut story, and the story of black walnuts inevitably comes back to Hammons Black Walnuts in Stockton, Missouri.
Its a story Basecke and his team are happy to be part of, "you know, we've been gearing up for the last several months in anticipation. It's a great, great tradition that again, is so unique to Southwest Missouri. And we take a lot of pride in that."