Hickory Nut Flavor Newsletter
A cozy soup from a nut that tastes like pecans.
Get The Recipe
Hickory Nut Tortellini Soup. This soup uses the hickory nuts to add creaminess to a broth and to add crunch on top of chewy kale and silky tortellini. It’s the soup to make a loved one after a long hike: uncomplicated, hearty, and full of fun textures. Use the best broth and olive oil you can find - there aren’t many ingredients, so each one goes a long way in building flavor.
Hickory Nuts
Hickory nuts share the sweet, woody, and nutty flavors of pecans - which makes sense, because both nuts come from trees in the same genus (Carya spp.). There are several types of edible hickory nuts (bitternut, shellbark, and shagbark, to name a few), but you’ll most frequently find shagbark nuts for snacking and cooking. I’m choosing to use the general term “hickory nut” though, because it’s not uncommon to find wild hickories misidentified or confused, and there are flavor similarities amongst species. You’ll notice the trees all over the Eastern United States from their distinctive bark, which to me looks like a crunchy woolly mammoth’s coat. You’ll find the nuts for sale from several small businesses online (see below), and plentiful to harvest in the fall.
Hickory nuts make an excellent pie during the holiday season, but can be enjoyed year-round in classic confections like pound cakes and shortbread cookies. I love their sweet application, but there are more than enough recipes for nutty desserts online, and I love seeing them used in savory dishes and everyday cooking (did someone say Black Pepper Hickory Snack Mix?). Sam Thayer infamously made a cooking oil from bitternut hickory nuts (Read about it on Alan Bergo’s blog here), though production was limited and it’s uncommon to find it for sale these days. The flavor is mild and nutty - if you get the opportunity to taste or purchase it, I highly recommend.
Find the Flavor
Find Hickory Nuts
✓ Wild throughout the United States
✓ Shelled from Hickory Nuts Direct
✓ Unshelled from Hickory Nuts Direct
✓ Unshelled from Homestead Ecofarm & Wildcrafting
Find Other Hickory Products
✓ Shagbark Hickory Syrup from Sourced in Nature
✓ Hickory Vinegar from Lindera Farms
✓ Shagbark Hickory Bark from Naturecraft Farm
References & Resources
Indigenous Landscapes: Hickories of the Midwest
Indigenous People’s Perspective Project: Hickory
Forager Chef Shagbark Hickory Nut Article
Hickorycroft Farm Harvesting & Processing Video
Indigenous Food Sovereignty Resources
I want to hear from everyone - have you cooked with Hickory Nuts before? Any thoughts on the recipe? What ingredients do you want to hear about next?