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Featured Ingredient -- Walnuts -- Walnut Trivia
Rate it! Votes (1) | Comments (0) By FabulousFoods.com Posted October 28th, 2008

• California walnuts account for 99% of the commercial US supply and two-thirds of world supply. Most of the walnuts are grown throughout the Central Valley of California and in Coastal Valleys, from Redding in the north to Bakersfield in the south.
  
• The remaining one third of the world’s walnuts are grown in China, Turkey, India, France, Italy and Chile.
• California walnuts are also known as English or Persian walnuts or Juglans Regia meaning “Jupiter’s royal acorn.
• The black walnut, on the other hand, is a native American species. Currently the black walnut is used mainly as a rootstock for English walnuts. The meats are tasty, but a lot of work to crack and remove from the shell.
• Walnuts were introduced to California by Franciscan Fathers in the 1700s.
  
• Walnuts are the oldest know tree food, dating back to 7000 B.C. Walnuts have been cultivated for over a millennia.
  
• Walnuts do best on fertile, deep, well drained, non-stratified, loamy soils. Under ideal soil conditions, roots can be found to depths of 10 feet or more.
  
• The 2007 California walnut crop totaled 323,000 short tons.
  
• California has approximately 215,000 walnut bearing acres.
  
• Walnut trees bear fruit 5 to 7 years after planning and can produce walnuts for as long as a century.
  
• There are over 30 Varieties of commercially produced walnuts, all hybrids of the English or Persian walnut. Varieties are developed for various characteristics, such as: early harvest, late harvest; thick shell, thin shell; high walnut meat content; pest tolerance, etc.
  
• Walnuts are removed from trees by mechanical shakers which shake the nuts to the ground. Nuts are then swept from the orchard floor by mechanical harvesters and taken to processing facilities where they are cleaned and packaged.
  
• Approximately 60% of walnut exports are shelled and 40% are exported in-shell.
  
• In the US market, approximately 94% of shipments are shelled walnuts, while only 6% remain in-shell.

To learn more about Walnuts, check out the other parts of this Ingredient Feature:

• Walnuts -- Good for Your Health
  
• Buying and Storing Walnuts
• Walnuts -- Toasting and Blanching Tips
• Tons of Walnut Recipes

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