Walnuts courtesy of GimmeFood /Flickr 2011

Official State Nut of Missouri:Eastern Black Walnut

Missouri named the Eastern Black Walnut the official state nut on July 9, 1990. The Eastern Black Walnut is often used in various candies, ice cream, and baked goods.

The Eastern black walnut shell (J. nigra) is the hardest of the walnut shells, and it is therefore ideal for polishing: clean soft metals, fiberglass, plastics, wood and stone. It is also used for a paint thickener for a “plaster effect,” in explosives as a filler in dynamite, and in cosmetics as soap and exfoliating cleansers.(Wikipedia)

Important California Agricultural Product

The Difference between California Walnuts and Missouri Black Walnuts

The black walnut is a Native American species. Currently the black walnut is used mainly as a rootstock for English walnuts. The meats are tasty but thanks to a very thick shell, they are a lot of work to crack and remove from the shell. Nutritionally speaking black walnuts contain approximately 10% less total fat and approximately 80% less omega-3 fatty acids (ALA) per serving than English walnuts.

Source: California Walnut Commission

History of the Walnut

Walnuts are the oldest tree food known to man, dating back to 7000 B.C. The Romans called walnuts Juglans regia, “Jupiter’s royal acorn.” Early history indicates that English walnuts came from ancient Persia, where they were reserved for royalty. Thus, the walnut is often known as the “Persian Walnut.” Walnuts were traded along the Silk Road route between Asia and the Middle East. Caravans carried walnuts to far off lands and eventually through sea trade, spreading the popularity of the walnut around the world. English merchant marines transported the product for trade to ports around the world and they became known as “English Walnuts.” England, in fact, never grew walnuts commercially. The outer shell provided a natural protective layer helping to maintain the quality of the nut. Today the nut trade continues to be a well-established, ordered, and structured business, and the California walnut is well known as the top quality walnut for the world.

Black Walnuts in Art

Recipe for Walnut Butter

• 2 cups walnuts
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons walnut or vegetable oil (or as needed)

Optional, to taste:

• A little honey
• A little cinnamon

**Yields 1 Cup, 8 servings

Directions for Walnut Butter
You can make walnut butter using raw, soaked or toasted walnuts. Here’s how to do all three, and why they’re different.

Raw walnuts:
Use raw walnuts for a very creamy and smooth texture that tastes like a just shelled walnut.

Soaked walnuts:
This method will remove some of the tannin from the walnut skin, and offer a more textured walnut butter. Soak walnuts overnight, drain and discard the water. Then, toast the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350°F for up to 15 minutes to dry them out (don’t let them get dark!). Cool the walnuts before making them into butter.

Toasted walnuts:
To enhance the sweet, nutty flavor of walnuts, toast them before making them into butter. Walnut butter with toasted walnuts will provide a coarse textured finished product. Toast walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350°F for 8 to 10, or until fragrant. Cool the walnuts before making them into butter.

To make the butter:
Make walnut butter by putting the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and grinding them until they become sticky or paste-like. Add the salt. Add the oil, a little bit at a time until the walnut butter binds together. If you like, add small touches of honey and/or cinnamon to taste.

Source: Recipe courtesy of the California Walnut Commission

Tasty Walnut Treats for You

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The History of Popcorn

Popcorn by Alan Cleaver (alancleaver_2000/Flickr)

Popcorn was not mentioned in early farm papers and seed trade catalogs until around 1880, but once the American public discovered it, popcorn’s popularity quickly grew. Nearly all of the world’s popcorn production is in the United States, with 25 states growing the crop. Over one fourth of the national production is in Nebraska, and Indiana produces only slightly less. Other major popcorn-producing states are Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri. Scholars agree that corn, and popcorn, originated in the Americas. Precisely how it originated, however, is a topic of debate.

Interesting Popcorn Facts

• The oldest ears of popcorn ever found were discovered in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico in 1948 and 1950. Ranging from smaller than a penny to about 2 inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears are about 4,000 years old.
• In tombs on the east coast of Peru, researchers have found grains of popcorn perhaps 1,000 years old. These grains have been so well-preserved that they will still pop.
• In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when he invaded Mexico and came into contact with the Aztecs. Popcorn was an important food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.
• An early Spanish account of a ceremony honoring the Aztec gods who watched over fishermen reads: “They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water.”
• Writing of Peruvian Indians in 1650, the Spaniard Cobo says, “They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection.”
• In southwestern Utah, a 1,000-year-old popped kernel of popcorn was found in a dry cave inhabited by predecessors of the Pueblo Indians.

Legislative Resolution

Illinois Official Snack Food – Popcorn

detail of Popcorn by Janet Hudson

How to Make Perfect Popcorn

1. 3 tablespoons peanut oil
2. 3 ounces popcorn kernels, approximately 1/2 cup
3. 1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt
4. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Place the oil, popcorn and salt in a large, 6-quart, metal mixing bowl. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke 10 slits in the top with a knife.
2. Place the bowl over medium heat and shake constantly using a pair of tongs to hold the bowl. Continue shaking until the popcorn finishes popping, approximately 3 minutes.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and carefully remove the foil. Stir in any salt that is on the side of the bowl.
4. Melt the butter in the microwave. Slowly drizzle over the popcorn, while spinning the bowl. Serve immediately.

Recipes courtesy of Alton Brown of the Food Network

Suggested Ingredients

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According to the Illinois State Museum:

Apple Popcorn Brittle courtesy of the Popcorn Board

There are 333 Illinois farms that grow popcorn on 47,000 acres, making Illinois the third largest grower of the product.

Corn probably originated in Mexico about 5,000 years ago. It is estimated that Native Americans in Illinois started growing corn about 100 A.D.

Popcorn pops because its kernel contains a small drop of water that suddenly expands when exposed to high heat. The kernel turns inside-out as it explodes.

The Symbol
Second and third grade students and their teacher, Fran Hollister, at Cunningham Elementary in Joliet proposed popcorn as the official State Snackfood of Illinois, and it was sponsored by State Senator Larry Walsh. The Official Illinois Snackfood was voted a State Symbol in 2003.

Ingredients for Apple Popcorn Brittle

• 1 quart popped popcorn
• 2 cups apple and cinnamon flavored cereal
• 1 cup cocktail peanuts
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

A different Kind of Popcorn Recipe

Directions for Apple Popcorn Brittle

1. In a bowl, toss together popped popcorn, cereal and peanuts. Set aside. Butter sides of a heavy 2 quart saucepan.
2. In saucepan, combine apple juice, sugar, corn syrup, vinegar and salt.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil.
4. Cook to hard ball stage (250 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer).
5. Remove from heat. Pour syrup over popcorn-cereal-peanut mixture; toss to coat.
6. Spread in a buttered 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1-inch baking pan. Cool until hardened.
7. Break into pieces.

Notes

3/4 cup apple pop wine may be used instead of apple juice.

Recipe and photo courtesy of The Popcorn Board

Tasty Popcorn Treats Just for You

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Popcorn was designated the State Snack of Illinois on 01/01/04.
Bombay Popcorn is a tasty alternative to plain popcorn that you may be used to eating.

Ingredients for Bombay Popcorn

• 8 cups popped popcorn, warm

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

• 2 teaspoons curry powder or hot curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup toasted coconut, golden raisins or sliced almonds, optional

Directions

1. Place popcorn in a large bowl.
2. Microwave butter 20 seconds or until melted; stir in curry powder until well blended.
3. Drizzle seasoned butter over popcorn and stir to distribute.

Sprinkle with salt, sugar and optional ingredients; stir gently until blended.

Recipe courtesy of The Popcorn Board

Citation styles

APA style

Bombay Popcorn. (2011, December 2). In Coast2CoastRecipes. Retrieved 04:17, February 6, 2012, from http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/

MLA style

admin, “Bombay Popcorn.” Coast2CoastRecipes. 2 December 2011, 08:54 UTC. . 6 Feb 2012 <http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/>.

MHRA style

admin, 'Bombay Popcorn', Coast2CoastRecipes, 2 December 2011, 08:54 UTC, <http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/> [accessed 6 February 2012]

The Chicago Manual of Style

admin, “Bombay Popcorn.” Coast2CoastRecipes, http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/ [accessed February 6, 2012].

CBE/CSE style

admin, Bombay Popcorn [Internet]. Coast2CoastRecipes; 2011 December 2, 08:54 UTC [cited 2012 Feb 6]. Available from: http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/.

Bluebook style

Bombay Popcorn, http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/ (last visited Feb. 6, 2012).

AMA style

admin, Bombay Popcorn. Coast2CoastRecipes. December 2, 2011, 08:54 UTC. Available at: http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/. Accessed February 6, 2012.

]]> http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2010/02/bombay-popcorn/feed/ 1 http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/ http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:56:56 +0000 admin http://coast2coastrecipes.com/?p=40
Contents
1. Swedish Nuts
2. Ingredients
3. Directions
4. More Delicious Treats

Pecans are both the state nut of Alabama, and the state tree of Texas.  These nuts are also an important agricultural product in many US states, the top five of which are: Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, according to the College of Agriculture, New Mexico State University.

These Swedish Nuts are a wonderful holiday snack food, and they make a perfect recipe for a classroom state report project.

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Swedish Nuts

Calories per serving: 220 per 1/2 cup

Cooking and Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 egg white, slightly beaten
• 2 cups pecan or walnut halves
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300F°.
3. Grease 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.
4. In medium bowl, mix egg white and pecan halves until pecans are coated and sticky.

In small bowl, mix sugar and cardamom; sprinkle over pecans. Stir until pecans are completely coated. Spread pecans in a single layer in pan.

Bake about 30 minutes or until toasted. Cool completely or serve slightly warm. Store tightly covered up to 3 weeks.

New twist: Ground cinnamon can be substituted for the cardamom; both spices are perfect for the holidays.

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More Delicious Treats




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Citation styles

APA style

Swedish Nuts. (2010, June 18). In Coast2CoastRecipes. Retrieved 04:17, February 6, 2012, from http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/

MLA style

admin, “Swedish Nuts.” Coast2CoastRecipes. 18 June 2010, 06:22 UTC. . 6 Feb 2012 <http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/>.

MHRA style

admin, 'Swedish Nuts', Coast2CoastRecipes, 18 June 2010, 06:22 UTC, <http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/> [accessed 6 February 2012]

The Chicago Manual of Style

admin, “Swedish Nuts.” Coast2CoastRecipes, http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/ [accessed February 6, 2012].

CBE/CSE style

admin, Swedish Nuts [Internet]. Coast2CoastRecipes; 2010 June 18, 06:22 UTC [cited 2012 Feb 6]. Available from: http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/.

Bluebook style

Swedish Nuts, http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/ (last visited Feb. 6, 2012).

AMA style

admin, Swedish Nuts. Coast2CoastRecipes. June 18, 2010, 06:22 UTC. Available at: http://coast2coastrecipes.com/2009/07/swedish-nuts/. Accessed February 6, 2012.

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