Talk:Walnut
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The following text was removed, because I don't believe it is true, at least in Europe. It is the common (English) walnut that is slow growing and hardwooded. The black walnut grows at a much faster rate, and its timber is less valuable. If it is not so in the US, this section ought to be modified accordingly.
<quote> The English walnut is a fast-growing tree compared to other trees in its family. Therefore, walnut wood is a soft material compared to oak. The black walnut is slower-growing and the wood harder, is highly valued for its durability and unique colour. The American butternut, Juglans cinerea, is similar to black walnut in many ways, but the wood is much weaker. <end quote>
I came here wondering why a walnut is shaped the way it is. Extensive Google searching yielded nothing helpful. Are their any good theories?
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[edit] omega-3
"Walnuts are also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, and have been shown as helpful in lowering cholesterol." This is in direct contradiction with Omega-3_fatty_acids, which states: "Walnuts (Juglans regia) contain small amounts of omega-3 yet high amounts of omega-6, so are likely to be detrimental in a diet already rich in omega-6.[3] Black walnuts (Juglans nigra) have a marginally more favorable omega-3:omega-6 ratio, but are still a poor means of improving the omega-3:omega-6 dietary ratio." 83.160.162.119 18:25, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Storage
"They need to be kept dry and refrigerated to store well; in warm conditions they become rancid in a few weeks, particularly after shelling." I keep 'm shelled in a vacuum container; they are perfectly edible after well over a year of storage. 83.160.162.119 18:25, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
- Keeping oxygen out will certainly reduce the rate of deterioration. But they still won't be as good as fresh walnuts; try germinating one to see if it will grow (that's the best test for quality) - MPF 10:10, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
- [Well, DUH.] Danny Lilithborne 08:12, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
does anyone know how to harvest them? I just moved into a house that has a beautiful tree and I would like to take advantage of it.
[edit] Nutrition?
I came to this page looking for nutritional information, but found nothing significant. Octothorn 12:49, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Pruning
I came to find the right time in the year to prune a walnut tree and can't find anything.
[edit] Sourcing
This needs a cite: ;Herbal Treatment
In Italy, the outer green shell is taken off the walnut skins while they are growing, and made into a tonic. Used for intestinal disorders, various symtpoms we call diseases, ie IBS, etc, as part of various bitters, or appertifs, the tonic is known for its anti-parastic value.
[edit] Health benefits
Stumbled upon this article: A Walnut Diet Improves Endothelial Function in Hypercholesterolemic Subjects. A Randomized Crossover Trial (PMID 15037535). If the information is true, it would be good to include the health claims of walnut consumption in the article.--CopperKettle 02:45, 11 September 2006 (UTC) P.S. A quote from the article: Nuts are fatty foods rich in unsaturated fatty acids.1 Epidemiological studies have shown that frequent nut consumption decreases the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), with adjusted relative risk reductions approaching 50% for nut intakes of >4 to 5 servings per week compared with little or no intake.2–4 Feeding trials have demonstrated that healthy diets enriched with a variety of nuts consistently reduce total and LDL cholesterol by 5% to 15%.1,4–8 The lipid effects of nut intake only explain in part the CAD risk reduction observed in prospective studies, suggesting that nuts might have antiatherosclerotic effects beyond cholesterol lowering.
Besides having a favorable fatty acid profile, nuts are a rich source of bioactive compounds with potential benefit on CAD risk such as dietary fiber, folic acid, and antioxidants.1 Nuts also contain sizeable amounts of L-arginine, the precursor amino acid of the endogenous vasodilator nitric oxide (NO).9 Walnuts differ from all other nuts by a high content of -linolenic acid (ALA), a vegetable n-3 fatty acid,10 which might confer them additional antiatherogenic properties.11--CopperKettle 02:56, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] spiny hull or husk
I am not sure how to distinguish between the unshelled nuts of the walnut tree, butternut tree, pecan tree, and almond tree. Can anybody help me here? All I have to go on, is a big paper sack full of unhulled nuts, and they are encased in these thick spiny or thorny hulls. I think that there exist machines that can peel off the thorny hulls before revealing the nut within, but I am reluctant to do anything along those lines until I buy a pair of gloves. I don't have the slightest idea what the trees look like; all I have is the sack of unhulled nuts to go on.
Are the nuts of all of these trees characterized by thorny hulls or spiny husks?
The main article would be improved if somebody posted a picture of a nut inside its original spiny hull.
