Like many, I enjoy a good walnut. Toasted walnuts are great. Plain walnuts are lovely. On a salad. For a snack. What’s not to like?

So when I heard stories of my neighbours’ walnut tree (and the previous owner who used to gather the walnuts for baking), I thought I could channel my inner Martha Stewart and experiment with them. I watched a couple of YouTube videos, and I thought I was adequately prepared for the task. Read on.

My lovely neighbours had a bucket ready for me, so I gathered the fallen walnuts and got to work. First, while wearing gloves, I removed the outer shell by squishing it and pulling out the walnut. The smell was amazing. The task was easy.

Next, I put all the walnuts on a dish rack/strainer and sprayed them down with the jet setting on my hose. This removed dirt and fibres that were left on from the outer shell. I discarded the “walnut juice” on my lawn, and the worms had a field day! (Note: Do not wear Crocs for this task or a worm might just find its way in through a hole. Ew!)

This two-step process was neither difficult nor time consuming. I felt proud of myself for getting this far.

Then I removed my gloves.

Uh oh. Walnut stain all over my hands! Oops. I proceeded to Google how to remove the stain, and unfortunately, nothing has worked (lemon juice, baking soda, salt, toothpaste). I think my hands will now remain stained for likely a month or so.

I left the walnuts out to dry in the sun while I continued to do yard work. By the time I remembered to gather them to bring them inside, half of them were gone! The squirrels hit the walnut jackpot!

So now I’m left with just a few walnuts that will dry over the next month or so. The final step will be to eat them, of course!

I can’t see myself trying this again in the near – or distant – future. My neighbours have already told me they’re ready to say no when I ask them about gathering up their walnuts next year.