While I was walking the dog this morning, I discovered a shagbark hickory tree at the side of the road. I took Brio home, grabbed a bag, and went back to gather nuts. I only took the ones on the edge of the road, but when the homeowners are home, I'll go back and ask if I can clean off their lawn too.
Hickory nuts are almost like pecans, but with a hint of maple flavour. They smell wonderfully like maple too. The only way to open them is to hit them hard with a hammer, which smashes the meat inside, unfortunately. But you can use them for pies and tarts or in pancakes or cookies, you can boil them down with a little sugar to make a pancake syrup, or you can skim off the oil to make hickory butter. They are very calorie-dense so you shouldn't eat a ton of them. I'm going to dry mine, freeze most of them, and make some shortbread with the rest (think pecan sandies). It may take a week to open all of them, though. I don't have a nut pick, but I have the dental tools I use on the stained glass windows, which I can wash really well before using.
I carried my loot home with a grin on my face. What a treasure! And they were just left lying there.
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