Walnuts: Harvesting Good Health
 Craig McNamara has been growing walnuts in California’s Central Valley for 25 years. And during harvest, the days are long but he never seems to tire during what he calls this "remarkable time." This "remarkable time" is the culmination of many months of weeding, feeding, pruning and watering the leafy walnut trees.
The Central Valley’s Mediterranean climate with its hot summers and mild winters provided perfect conditions for a nut most likely brought over by Spanish missionaries in the early 1800s. Today, California’s 5,000 walnut growers harvest close to 340,000 tons or 99 percent of the nation’s total crop.
McNamara says the primary tool used during harvest is the tree shaker, which grips the tree and exerts 1700 pounds per square inch of pressure. After about two to three seconds per tree, the nuts are shaken loose and down they come. Next, a sweeper moves in and sweeps the walnuts that have fallen to the ground. After they’re swept into rows, the pickup machine comes by, picks up the nuts and blows both dirt and hulls out. The now cleaned walnuts go into a nut buggy and then onto a conveyer belt in the shed. Here more debris is removed, the outer hulls scrubbed off, the nuts (still in their shells) thoroughly washed and then hand-sorted.
Finally the walnuts roll into large trailers. Heated air is forced in to make sure they’re completely dry. McNamara sells about half of his crop still in the shell. The rest goes to a nearby processing plant filled with sophisticated shelling equipment.
So Good For You
Nutritional expert Doctor Steven Pratt is co-author of Superfoods Rx. The best-selling book includes walnuts among fourteen foods that the authors claim help prevent disease and prolong life. Pratt says various studies already confirm the omega 3 oil in walnuts can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels but he says recent findings suggest high levels of magnesium and fiber may help maintain balanced insulin levels and reduce the risk of diabetes.
By providing melatonin, they can again boost our immune system, lower our risk for chronic disease, decrease inflammation. If you consume one ounce to one and a half ounces of walnuts per day five times per week, you can lower your risk for cardiovascular disease anywhere from 15 to 51 percent depending on the study. That’s a very powerful medication, and it’s tasty and yummy to boot. — Dr. Steven Pratt on walnuts as a “Super food”
Gerard Robert is well aware of the health benefits of walnuts. But this gourmet chef at the Balcony Bistro in Folsom, California says that’s only one reason he’s adding them to more of his menu items like walnut-filled dates wrapped in bacon, walnut-breaded fish filets, pasta and desserts like bread pudding. They’re not only nutritious, but delicious and add texture and crunch to so many dishes.
For growers like Craig McNamara, all this positive walnut news not only helps sales, it makes their work all the more satisfying.
Additional information:
Bet you didn’t know…
Bet you didn’t know that Craig McNamara is the son of Robert McNamara, United States Secretary of Defense under Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. The senior McNamara was the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary The Fog of War that came out several years ago.
On the subject of “super foods” like walnuts, add the following to your list for good health:
- Beans, such as legumes like garbanzos, black, red, and navy beans
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Oats
- Orange
- Pumpkin
- Wild salmon
- Spinach
- Tomato
- Green or black tea
This is only a partial list. The rest can be found online by searching under “super foods”.
For information about walnuts including lots of recipes, go to www.walnuts.org
Sierra Orchards
Winters, CA
530-795-3824
Balcony Bistro
801 ½ Sutter Street
Folsom, CA
(916) 353-0733
www.balconybistro.com(recipes available by writing to web site)
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