{"id":17992,"date":"2021-11-08T08:23:57","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T13:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=17992"},"modified":"2021-11-08T08:24:37","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T13:24:37","slug":"black-walnuts-safe-to-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2021\/11\/08\/black-walnuts-safe-to-eat\/","title":{"rendered":"Are my black walnuts safe to eat?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Question:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>I harvested some black walnuts from a tree in my yard. After removing the husks and letting them dry for a couple weeks, I put them in an uncovered plastic box. Now some of the nut shells have white mold on them. Can you advise me if they are safe to eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Answer:<\/h3>\n<p><em>Vi\u00f1a Lindley, Food Systems &amp; Home Horticulture Professional<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, I would recommend that you discard the black walnuts. The molds that grow on nuts and other seeds (grains) are more likely to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fsis.usda.gov\/food-safety\/safe-food-handling-and-preparation\/food-safety-basics\/molds-food-are-they-dangerous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">aflatoxin producers<\/a> which are toxins that can be carcinogenic. While you may not be able to see mold on the inside of the shells, it is possible that parts of the fungus are still present on the nut meat.<\/p>\n<p>If you decide to try harvesting and <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.illinois.edu\/blogs\/extensions-greatest-hits\/1999-10-02-preparing-black-walnuts-eating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">processing black walnuts<\/a> again in the future you&#8217;ll want to be sure to cure them for several weeks in an area that is well-ventilated and away from direct sunlight and once they are dry store them in mesh or burlap bags somewhere cool and dry. Another option, once the nuts have dried, is to remove the shells and store refrigerated or frozen. Properly cured black walnuts should store well for up to a year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I harvested some black walnuts from a tree in my yard. After removing the husks and letting them dry for a couple weeks, I put them in an uncovered plastic box. Now some of the nut shells have white mold on them. Can you advise me if they are safe to eat? Answer: Vi\u00f1a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are my black walnuts safe to eat? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2021\/11\/08\/black-walnuts-safe-to-eat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are my black walnuts safe to eat? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: I harvested some black walnuts from a tree in my yard. 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