You Asked, and We Answered: A 3 Part Series

At Unbound Snacks, we eat, breath, sleep, and think walnuts every day. So, we forget that many of you out there don’t know about the awesomeness of walnuts and why they make such a great snack. We did some research, and we’re bringing it to you in snackable words and pictures to answer some of the top questions people ask about walnuts. Here are the first five burning questions:

1: Who Discovered Walnuts? 

Nobody really knows WHO discovered walnuts. It’s not like one fell out of a tree and hit Isaac Newton on the head, you know what we mean? But we DO know that walnuts are the oldest tree food known to man, dating back to 7000 BC. Though not everyone got to enjoy the goodness of walnuts back then – only the Kings and Queens. 

2: How Do Walnuts Grow? 

Your mother taught you that money doesn’t grow on trees, but walnuts do! (And for us at Unbound Snacks, we see their value.) In fact, walnuts are the fastest growing trees that can be over 98 feet tall and 59 feet wide. They need a lot of sunlight, which is why Sacramento CA is a great place for them to grow!

3: How Many Types of Walnuts Are There? 

There are more species of walnut trees than you might think; 21 to be exact. The most common are the Black Walnut, English Walnut and Butternut. Here at Unbound Snacks, we grow a variety that falls under the English walnut species – the Chandler walnut. We like them best because the trees produce lots of nuts that are famous for their extra light, high quality kernels and mild flavor. We think they are the rockstars of snacking nuts!  

4: How are Walnuts Harvested?
Walnuts bloom in April and are ready to be harvested in September/October. There are different ways to harvest, but we start with shakers and sweepers and use pickup machines to gather the walnuts.

5: How are Walnuts Shelled? 

You’ve probably seen handheld nutcrackers sitting in a bowl of unshelled walnuts at your grandma’s house. Well, that’s one way to do it, but at Unbound Snacks, we use commercial equipment to shell our walnuts. First, they go through a huller to remove the outer skin. Then the go through the sheller where they are carefully cracked to prevent damaging the delicate nut halves inside. We’re especially careful because we only use walnut halves in our Unbound Snacks.

If you want to learn more about the walnuts we go for to use in Unbound Snacks, hop over to our About Us page and watch the full video. 

In Part 2 of You Asked, We Answered, we’ll tackle some questions about how walnuts taste and why they are so good for you. Stay tuned!