National Walnut Day

Miansari66 / Public domain

May 17th is National Walnut Day in the United States.

The walnut is found on a number of trees that are also commonly called walnuts. Like many nuts, it is not a true botanical nut, but a culinary one, and is the edible seed of a drupe. Once the stone fruit has ripened, the husk can be removed, revealing the shell of the walnut. The shell is also removed, revealing the meat of the walnut.

The two most common walnut trees grown for their seeds are the English walnut, which actually originated in Persia and is also called the Persian walnut, and the black walnut native to North America. Most commercial walnut trees are hybrids of the English walnut. Today, China produces about half of the commercially produced walnuts.

Walnuts are frequently sold in their shells, but are also sold without. They can be eaten on their own, with raw, pickled and toasted being the most common - pickled walnuts, which are pickled in their shells, are often sold at Christmas. Walnuts are also used as ingredients in many other dishes. Like most nuts, walnuts contain lots of nutritional value.