So there's a Hickory tree, and nuts are just falling out of it, left and right, about 1 every few seconds or so. All the nuts are, naturally, still in their husks. I look up and see a couple squirrels in the tree, and look down to see that the husks are mostly a marbled green/brown in coloration. I stomp on a few to de-husk them and get the nut out. I know mid-August is kinda early for Hickories to be ripe, but they were falling out of the tree in such large numbers, and the husks were turning brown and splitting, they just seemed like they must be at least ripe enough to eat.
So anyway, I crack the nut open and take a taste. The meat of the nut was soft and tender, and kind of tasted like a banana... almost. I'm not a huge expert when it comes to nuts, but I'm pretty sure that's not what is to be expected, so I'm here to see if anyone knows why. Were they just unripe, despite falling and turning brown/splitting? Or do they need to be cured like walnuts? Or roasted to get a more crisp nutmeat? And by the way, this all right along the border between agricultural zones 6a and 6b.
All help is appreciated, thank you!
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