Zeta Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 I "owe" you all my two other posts on nuts - where to buy, how to eat - but it's been proving time-consuming to do the needed research (but I'm getting there). For now, a quick note about what I've heard is, and somehow looks to be, a great source of walnuts: Haag Farm. Low-budget website and weird system for ordering, but I have a good feeling about them. Will report back when I've received and partaken of my order. Anyone else have experience with them? Zeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Actually, after a bit more googling, I see that there are lots of farms from which one can buy walnuts. The minimum purchase amount varies, and might in many cases be too large for some of us, but there are lots of options out there. Would love to hear from anyone who has experience buying walnuts, or any nuts, directly from growers. Here, by the way, is where I once again feel that we need a wiki.... Zeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael R Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Zeta, is there a reason you wouldn't just buy all of your nuts from one source? As I've said before, eg, I'm entirely satisfied with nuts.com on transparency, and their prices and variety are good. If walnuts were the only nuts you were buying I'd understandn shopping around and trying to buy direct from farmers, but since you're buying at least 2 different kinds and it looks like 3, going after multiple sources seems like a waste of time and cognitive resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Zeta, is there a reason you wouldn't just buy all of your nuts from one source? Yes, I eat so many (1500-2000 calories' worth on my two feast days) that I judge the health consequences of a small difference in the age of nuts - any of them, but esp. walnuts - to be significant. But you're right: it expends a lot of time and cog. resources. But as I'll point out in a coming post, I really do not want to eat old (even slightly old) walnuts (I have you to thank for encouraging me/us to look into walnut quality, by the way), unless I trust nearly 100% the storage conditions under which they've been kept, which I don't yet, not quite anyway, with any of the nut sources I've been in contact with. I also tell myself others could benefit from my research. Maybe not? Would anyone out there buy 5-10 pounds of just harvest walnuts if I gave a recommendation? (Mine arrive within two days, and can report then.) Zeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I also tell myself others could benefit from my research. Maybe not? Would anyone out there buy 5-10 pounds of just harvest walnuts if I gave a recommendation? (Mine arrive within two days, and can report then.) I would Zeta, as long as they aren't TOO expensive. Thanks for doing the legwork on this! --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Reporting back as promised: the walnuts arrived extremely quickly (1.5 days), and are fresh and delicious! I was fairly stunned that they were in unsealed (thick) plastic bags, however (inside a sealed, though cardboard, USPS shipping box). But I don't think exposure to air for that short a time matters. It certainly doesn't look/taste/smell look like it did. Zeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks for the update Zeta! On that recommendation, I've ordered 10 lbs of Hagg Farms fresh mixed, shelled walnuts, for $7.35/lb + shipping. --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Excellent, Dean! Hope you enjoy them. I may order a lot more now, and freeze a bunch (once I make a decision about the right kind of long-term food storage option...). I mean, buying walnuts in, say, March, let alone July or August, means trusting someone else's long-term storage (and shipping) system. I have the freezer space, so I might as well trust my own system! Zeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 You may recall, per Zeta's recommendation six days ago I purchased a batch of fresh walnuts from Haag Farms. They arrived today. The shipping was prompt but the packaging wasn't great. The nuts were divided into three plastic bags, which weren't even sealed! But the nuts are obviously extremely fresh. I've only had a couple so far, and they are excellent! With $10 shipping, the price was about $8/lb, which is comparable to the Kirkland brand walnuts I usually buy at CostCo, and which are available at Amazon here. I find CostCo walnuts to be high quality as well, but from my judgement not as fresh as these from Haag Farms. --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Excellent, Dean! Hope you enjoy them [Haag Farm Walnuts]. I may order a lot more now, and freeze a bunch (once I make a decision about the right kind of long-term food storage option...). I mean, buying walnuts in, say, March, let alone July or August, means trusting someone else's long-term storage (and shipping) system. I have the freezer space, so I might as well trust my own system! FYI, I froze and then vacuum sealed most of the 8 lbs of Haag Farm walnuts, along with a 3-lb bag of Walnuts from Costco I'd recently purchased, and stuck them in my freezer. They should last me through to next spring, maybe even summer, I estimate. Here is a picture of one of the vacuum-sealed bags of walnuts. As you can see, the bag has been 'sucked in' to the the contours of the nuts due to the internal vacuum. I highly recommend vacuum sealing then freezing as a way of preserving nuts (and many other fresh frozen foods). See this post for details on my recommendation. --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Dean, thanks for the feedback on the Haag Farm (no "s", by the way, in case it matters) walnuts. As I continue to eat through mine, I can report finding absolutely zero walnuts that are not 1) fresh and 2) truly light grade, with the possible exception of a couple of the Yolo Red - "possible" because I'm not sure what a darker pellicle means in the case of Yolo Red (it means not "light", but that might not mean older or more exposed to oxygen, as it usually would in the case of Chandler, Tulare, or most of the other varieties of walnuts). I'll attach a picture next time I come across one. I'm going to hold off on getting a vacuum sealer. I put a lot of the walnuts in the freezer in airtight containers. I don't like that it's not a vacuum, but it's only for a month or so (yes, that's how many nuts I eat!), so I'm not too worried. Zeta P.S. And by the way the Sun Organic nuts came in bags thick enough that I can safely put those in the freezer, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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