Walnuts

In-Shell

After drying, in-shell walnuts are sized as jumbo, large, medium, or baby according to USDA standards.

Shelled

Shelled walnuts are removed from storage as needed and mechanically cracked. The shelled material is screened. Kernels are screened into a series of sizes, air-separated from shells, and moved to electronic color graders and shell sorters. Finally, they are hand-sorted by trained sorters and certified for quality and USDA Standards.

Growing Walnuts

Walnut production takes commitment, patience, and orchards dedicated only to walnut production.

After a walnut sapling is planted, it takes five to seven years for it to grow into an adult tree suitable for harvesting. Although many varieties of walnuts are grown in California, six account for over 75 percent of total production: Hartley, Chandler, Serr, Vina, Franquette and Howard.

Harvesting Walnuts

Harvesting begins in late August when the drying green hulls start to split, allowing the in-shell walnuts to be removed, and continues until late November. First the orchard floor is swept clean. Mechanical shakers vigorously shake each tree and thousands of walnuts fall to the ground. The walnuts are carefully swept into windrows to allow mechanical harvesters to pick them up for cleaning.

Walnuts & Nutrition

California Walnuts contribute many beneficial nutrients to the diet. For example, walnuts are a source of good polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) and contain essential alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant form of omega-3 fatty acid. One serving of walnuts contains 18 grams of total fat, of which 13 grams are PUFA and 2.6 grams are ALA. Clinical research has been conducted on the benefits of walnuts in the areas of heart health, diabetes, cognitive function, cancer and bone health. More information on these studies can be found at www.walnuts.org.