|
Navigation Home
 |
| Hickory Tree in Golden Fall
Color Alo... |
| Raymond Gehman |
| 24x18 Photograph... |
| Buy From
Art.com | | |
 |
| Hickory Saplings in Autumn
Colors Alo... |
| Raymond Gehman |
| 24x18 Photograph... |
| Buy From
Art.com | | |
|
|
 |
| Oak-Hickory Forest in
Litchfield Hill... |
| Jerry Monkman |
| 16x12 Photograph... |
| Buy From
Art.com | | |
 |
| Hickory Tree Forest in Late
Afternoon... |
| Raymond Gehman |
| 24x18 Photograph... |
| Buy From
Art.com | | | |
America’s Ancient, Historical Hickory Trees by Patrick
Malcolm
In 1792, William Bartram reported in his book, Travels,
the discovery of a native shagbark hickory nut that he called ‘Juglans
exaltata.' Today, shagbark hickory is called ‘Carya ovata.' Bartram
reported that this shagbark hickory grove was cultivated in groves by the
Indians west of Augusta, Ga.
Bartram documented that he saw 100
bushels of shagbark hickory nuts that were stored at just a single Indian
family home. The nuts were pounded into a mash, and then boiled in water,
where a white, oily liquid separated called ‘hickory milk.' The liquid was
described to be as sweet and rich as a fresh cream and was an active
ingredient used by the Indians in cooking corn bread and hominy
grits.
There remains some question whether or not the Indians near
Augusta on the Altamaha River hickory groves as described by Bartram were
actually planted as orchard trees or just harvested at a naturally located
site. Many such productive groves occur along tidal creeks in Coastal
Georgia, a few are left intact by land developers for the recreational
value of the trees and the food value of the nuts that are gathered at one
such Episcopal camp near Brunswick, Ga. along a tidal basin aquifer
‘Honeycreek,' a tributary of the Satilla River.
The hickory cream
that was recovered by the Indians for cooking purposes was also described
by Indians from the Algonquian tribe in Virginia who called this cream
"pawcohiccora," thus the word ‘hickory' was adapted, modified, and
abbreviated by the English colonists.
The shelled nuts of hickory
are greatly sought after and appreciated for the unique flavor, not only
by birds and animals, but by cooks and gourmet nut fanciers as well. The
shagbark hickory nut, when added to chocolate fudge, leaves a pleasurable,
indelible memory to all who are lucky enough to have experienced this
delicious encounter.
A group of entrepreneurs out West offer
shagbark syrup made from a top secret recipe that is made from a white
inner bark extract of the juice obtained in the spring from shagbark
hickory trees. The extract is obtained by pressure cooking and straining
the juices from the pulverized and shredded bark. The demand is so great
for this bottled hickory flavoring, that it has never satisfied the market
to chefs throughout the United States. Julia Child reports that one of her
favorite gourmet preparations includes mixing the bark extract with
bourbon as a marinade for ribs.
Every backyard chef with a grill
appreciates the fine flavoring that hickory tree wood smoke transfers into
meat, fish, and many other food items. Early colonists used hickory tree
wood smoke to flavor, cure, and preserve meats in the famous smokehouses
of Virginia.
In the natural state of hardwood forests, hickory
trees have hybridized easily and readily within species to produce
numerous variations and combinations of characteristics that possess the
traditional vigor displayed in scientific intercrosses of species by
academic professionals.
The difficulties that have delayed
commercial orchard development basically lies in the extreme difficulty in
successfully grafting 130 cultivar selections for nursery
distributors.
Some hickory nuts have smooth, thin shells that can
be easily cracked by squeezing two together in the hand, but other hickory
nut shells are so thick and hard that they must be cracked by several
vigorous hits from a heavy hammer.
Since hickory nuts are difficult
to shell out into large pieces, it is beneficial to soak the nuts in water
overnight before cracking. The shelled nuts then should be dried and
placed in a cool, dark location until they are to be used in
recipes.
Even though some cultivars can produce kernels up to 47%
by weight, most nuts only shell out about 30% kernel. There is a great
variability in hickory flavor from one cultivar to the next, however, they
all have a high unsaturated fat content with strong medical antioxidant
properties that transmits that characteristic spicy, sweet, buttery taste
from the kernels.
A mature shagbark hickory tree is unmistakable in
its shaggy, unkempt trunk appearance and its bright green, shiny leaves
constantly moving in the breeze at the globular treetop. Young trees have
a shiny, smooth bark that only begin to shred hair-like at an age of about
25 years.
Shagbark hickory trees are easy to transplant until about
4-5 feet tall, when a long taproot begins to anchor the tree to the ground
with very few lateral roots. Because of these sturdy, deep growing
taproots, and dense wood, the trees are among the best lawn specimens to
plant in hurricane locations, since they appear invulnerable to wind
damage with very straight trunks.
Several observations have been
made on natural state hybridization between shagbark hickory ‘Carya
ovata,' and pecan trees, ‘Carya illinoinensis.' The resulting nuts seem to
have flavor and nut characteristics somewhere in between the two species
and are being planted by nut hobbyists and some have found a place within
some commercial pecan orchards to insure pollination of this genetic
marvel named, ‘Hican.'
The many uses of shagbark hickory trees
include fuel, wood, and furniture products and as a supplement to charcoal
cooking as a smoking agent for taste and preservation of meats. Because of
the dense wood, hickory is used in tool handles such as hammers and axes,
as well as chairs, ladders, golf clubs, baseball bats, and skis.
Learn more about various plants, or purchase ones mentioned in
this article by visiting the author's website: TyTy Nursery
Article Source: Approved Articles Directory |
Search Find Free Content | Submit Articles | Author
Submission
|
