National Walnut Day

Go nuts about walnuts in honor of National Walnut Day! This ancient, healthful nut makes a great addition to sweet treats, salads, trail mixes and so many other interesting dishes. While other nuts often take center stage, the walnut is absolutely worth celebrating and appreciating on National Walnut Day.

History of National Walnut Day

As the oldest known tree that has provided food to humans, walnuts have a history that can be traced back for thousands of years. It didn’t take long for humans to discover that the walnut is an easy to store and simple to eat nut. Plus, it travels well and offers great nutritional benefits.

In Persia, the walnut was referred to as the Royal Nut and it was only allowed to be eaten by people of royal heritage. During the reign of Alexander the Great, the walnut was brought to Greece from Persia and it was referred to as the Persian Nut for more than 1000 years. However, over time, the Greek version became smaller and inferior to the Persian walnut. In fact, the Greeks were envious of the Persian walnut, so they brought some Persian cultivars back to Greece to improve their breeds.

The Greek name for the walnut is karyon, which means head. This is actually fairly spot on, because the outside shell resembles a human head and the interior nut looks a bit like a brain!

Walnuts likely made their way further into Europe somewhere between 500–700 BC and then moved west after that. The nut probably traveled to the British Isles with the Roman Empire. It was somewhere around this point that it picked up its name “English walnut”, which is used to distinguish it from the black walnut.

Eventually, the walnut crossed the ocean and found a path to the New World. It was a group of Franciscan Fathers who found that the climate of Southern California was an important one for growing these deciduous trees. And this is likely the reason they picked up the name “mission walnuts”. California walnuts have become so popular that they account for 99% of the commercial walnut industry in the United States, a large portion of walnut trade in the world.

National Walnut Day dates back more than 70 years! It was in 1949 that the Walnut Marketing Board in the United States established the day with the purpose of celebrating and promoting this delicious and nutritious nut. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower made the day a public holiday in 1958 and National Walnut Day has continued to be celebrated every year since that time.

How to Celebrate National Walnut Day

Enjoy tons of fun on National Walnut Day by celebrating in style with some of these tasty ideas:

Make Some Candied Walnuts

While candied pecans and toasted almonds are often thought of as some favorite snacks made from nuts, candied walnuts are absolutely worth trying out. Candied walnuts are delicious for snacking, adding as a topping to salads or used as a garnish on cakes and other sweet treats. And, they’re super easy to make!

Really, it’s as simple as just three ingredients: walnuts, butter and sugar. Add all of the ingredients to a skillet and heat for five minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Separate nuts on parchment paper and allow to cool.

Make Baked Goods with Walnuts

Enjoy the delicious National Walnut Day by getting some walnuts for the kitchen and adding them to a variety of baked goods. This might mean adding chopped walnuts to a loaf of banana bread, a selection of oatmeal muffins, a pan of freshly baked brownies or a variety of other tasty baked treats. Be sure to bake up extra treats with walnuts and pass them out at work, share them with neighbors and offer them to family members in observance of National Walnut Day!