Walnut Varieties
As a food grower and consumer I take great pride in what I grow, eat, and sell. That being said, I get numerous requests for Chandler nuts every year. It is frustrating because Chandlers are basically a large light colored flavorless nut. With so many really good varieties out there I feel it is way past time I start educating those who may have been wondering about walnut varieties. Please read on:
Before I get into varieties I will share a few short facts about walnuts.It may come as no surprise to you that in California over 4000 independent growers produce 99 percent of the commercial U.S. walnut supply, a 1.4 billion dollar industry.
The most common varieties are Chandler, Hartley, and Howards. Not to be forgotten, some older varieties include Sers, Franquetts, and Vina varieties. In reality there are many, many different varieties that vary in size, shape, and color.
How did we get so many varieties?
Like almost all fruits and vegetables different varieties are bred for vigor, disease, resistance and as always, to give the consumer what they want…almost always. Marketing of these new varieties play into consumer education. What I mean is many times what is being marketed to us is not always true. For example one day coffee is bad for us, the next it is good for us. This example is common with many other things like wine, eggs, and butter. What do we believe?
Why Variety Matters?
As a grower walnut varieties are extremely important. It is also very important to chiefs and bakers of all sorts who look for the best quality. This is the main reason why I want to spread the word about walnut varieties. To those who simply want a walnut from the store, variety is clearly not an issue, as they are not sold by variety. They are simply sold as a year old bag of nuts.
Many times as a producer and seller of English walnuts I am asked if I sell Chandler walnuts. We grow a few trees, but I do not sell them to the consumer, these go straight to the processor. Kind of like how paste type tomatoes go straight to the processor. The public has been sold a bill of goods on these nuts because they are larger and one of the lightest varieties; problem is THEY HAVE NO FLAVOR. Or some may say they taste like cardboard. Yet, time and again I am asked if I have them. I don’t sell food I do not like myself. So does variety matter? To those who really love their walnuts it does, and to others which variety you are eating may mean nothing. If you have not had fresh nuts right off the tree then you will also be in for a big surprise. The flavor is night and day compared to the ones you buy in the store.
Best tasting
So what are the best tasting varieties? I will call this purely opinion as this can be debatable. But here is what my judging is based on…FLAVOR!
One of my favorite varieties of all time is a Eureka. It is one of the largest varieties there are and it acts like a super nut on flavor. When you bite into a Eureka nut it has a strong walnut flavor void of bitterness. The skin is dark, which stands out nice in a baked good. And because of its size it looks fabulous on top of things. It also cracks out nicely. It is tougher to crack, but when it does it comes out in large whole pieces. Other acceptable varieties include Sers and Franquetts, although their flavor is not as strong and their size is smaller- followed by the always dependable Hartleys.
Marketing
How did Chandlers become so popular? I had to ask this question myself after tasting one. I thought how could something so tasteless earn such popularity among consumers?
Mariani Nut Company tried their best to explain it to me. While cross breeding to come up with more stable nuts scientists came up with the Chandler. It quickly gained popularity with the Chinese because they really liked the light nuts for baked goods. Because they were consuming more, farmers began to plant more and more of this variety earning them top dollar. Marketing of course played a big part. The size and color of Chandlers became a selling point. They also have other benefits for the producer. Chandlers are less susceptible to disease and crack out better than other varieties. In reality, every variety has its strength and weakness when it comes to protection and health of the walnut tree.
Because Chandlers have been so heavily marketed it is hard to sell anything else, and all these other varieties fall to the wayside loosing popularity and in some cases, approach extinction. Of course we have heard this before with other types of foods. Tomatoes come to mind and is a good example. We all want to grow disease resistant tomatoes that produce well, so we grow Early Girls, Celebritys or Sweet 100s, ignoring other older “heirloom” varieties that many times taste so much better.
Will there be an end to the madness?
Most likely not anytime soon. As I mentioned, walnuts are a 1.4 billion dollar industry and is run by those who grow the most acreage, and the consumer of course. It’s a relationship that feeds off of each other. If people like lighter colored nuts, then they are going to get just that. And if the farmer/corporation invested a ton of dough into planting exactly what you want, then why plant and market anything else?
As for me and my nuts, I like to grow what I like to eat, therefore we grow Hartley nuts. If I wanted to plant an orchard full of Eureka nuts, then the nut companies would not pay me for them. I would have to market and convince many, many people that my nuts are superior despite the nut industry’s current marketing advice. It is quite an uphill battle and we don’t have enough acreage to take on that experiment, but in the mean time…I will plant a few more Eureka trees for my friends and my own enjoyment educating one person at a time.
(1)Eureka variety (2) Hartley variety (3) Chandler variety (4) Ser variety (5) Black Walnut
For more information about walnut varieties please visit the UC Davis Improvement Program link. Also feel free to add your comments regarding what your favorite varieties are, or if it even matters to you. If you made it this far it may matter just a bit.
Dirt and Sky Farm 
Yes. I believe taste dies matter, regardless if what the market say. Chandler Walnuts do crack out so perfect.. but they taste like straw. I also think a walnut variety completely overlooked is the Vina variety. They typically are smaller but not always, the meat is darker but to me , they hsve one if the best flavors of them all. They have a harder shell and don’t always crack out but they TASTE so good! My other favorite is Franquettes. Your article is spot on … It’s an uphill battle for sure.. but for those who really enjoy how food tastes… The less popular varieties are the way to go.
LikeLike
Thanks Gigi for your thoughts. There are several other varieties that you mentioned that could have made my list, sadly I have not had the opportunity to try them all. Maybe one day I will get around to a more inclusive list. But you got the point.
LikeLike
I did buy some Chandler walnuts last thanksgiving ,but mostly to plant & see what comes up! Fully understanding that a hybrid will not continue from its seed. But this struck me as good news after eating a few from each of the 4 different bags. Had i bought these nuts with the intent of eating them? Well i would have took them back & asked for the manager & my money back! They tasted horrible acidic & bitter,if not that then no flavor at all & still unpleasant but less rude than the bitter astringent ones did. I ate about a dozen, so 3 of the best looking from each of the for bags. So I highly doubt it was by freak chance? So about 60 hatch out in the fridge and came up. I see I have about 2 – 4 different varieties that spawned from this hybrid. The nuts were identical in the bags,I check closely paying great attention to detail! Paying the same close attention to these seedlings,I can see at least 2 different varieties maybe 4 based on leaf shape,style,growth rate,branch structure & placement & over all tree shape as well as differences in bark.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your experience. Interesting.
LikeLike
Thank you for the information!
LikeLike
Your welcome, so pleased you stopped by my blog site.
LikeLike
Thank you. It’s hard to find out which varieties of nuts have the best flavour. i found the same thing with almonds. They choose them for commercial properties, not for home garden quality taste properties. I’ll see if I can find Eureka in Australia, if not, I know we can get Franquette. I’ll be avoiding the Chandler. Thanks for the warning. I don’t want a bland variety.
LikeLike
You are very welcome, so glad this was helpful.
LikeLike
I definitely recommend Aldrich or Monterey almonds. Way better than nonpareil! In produce like in everything the mass market sacrifices quality for quantity.
I have succeeded in acquiring a ton of Eurekas and can confirm Maria’s endorsement for all readers. Thanks so much, Maria!
LikeLike
Thanks for your feedback. I am not an expert on almonds.
LikeLike
Intrigued by the different walnuts out there–but is there anywhere on the internet selling anything besides Chandlers??
LikeLike
Very good question. This speaks to putting all our eggs into one basket. You are right, they mostly see Chandler. I have the same problem because I don’t buy chandlers. I have two recommendations: 1. Call around to nurseries in your area or close to it. Not sure where you are at. Some usually carry a few options outside of chandlers. 2. Grafting. Don’t know how many trees you want to buy…If it is a few then you can pick your root stock and then find someone with a variety you like. Then, graft it. If it is an entire orchard, then you really have to work with a nursery to get what you want. Some are easier to work with than others for sure.
LikeLike
walnut rita / Jugulans regia var. Carpathia … I wonder if any one is willing to send ( 10 – 20 nuts – 2020 harvest ) just for experimenting purpose to grow up tree out from nut. Some has managed to grow this carpatihian variation here in Finland. I would pay sending fee — and transit 20 eur together. but not too much above. My plan is to get 8 trees to grow on my garden. That is definitely out of my student budjet to by 10 plants now…
LikeLike
You can grow nuts from seed like many other things, but lik many other things you must have a strong rootstock that is not susceptible to disease and other problems. For this you would have to graft the seed onto another strong rootstock.
LikeLike
What is your opinion on the notorious Black Walnut? I have read differing reports of flavor and crackability.
LikeLike
Black walnuts. I will tell you I am not a scholar on them. I will also say that I love them. Yes, Black walnuts are notoriously hard to crack, and with such a little prize inside, but oh so yummy. I eat them all the time. I have a little cracking post under a black walnut tree of ours and where I take snack breaks. The tree itself is big and beautiful. The wood is amazing. They do cause some problems with regard to mistletoe and other bacterias being spread to our English nuts. What ya going to do?
LikeLike
I will say that Chandler walnuts when grown correctly have an excellent flavor, although perhaps not as strong as other walnuts. The comments about bitter Chandlers seems more likely an issue with age/storage vs. with the nut. Cold storage of any walnut is so important! We grow and sell Chandler walnuts direct to consumer and after 4,000lb this year, we haven’t had a single negative feedback on our Chandler walnuts. Then again, my Uncle has been growing walnuts for 40+ years and doesn’t over-water or pump them up with synthetic fertilizers, etc.
LikeLike
I have not heard of bitter chandlers before because they don’t have that dark skin. If they were bitter it would for sure be the age, I agree. As a third generation farmer I have never heard anyone rave about a Chandler, this includes those who grow them strictly for their value, until now. 🙂 My biggest argument is that we should never put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to agriculture. It’s just not a safe thing to do. Because of the drop in price in 2022, many farmers are taking out their walnuts strictly because they are not chandlers hoping to replant and get better prices with chandler. this is not a healthy mindset the walnut market has been building. Many types of varieties are a good option for any produce or nut for obvious reasons. I appreciate your input.
LikeLike
I have only one reason that I like the Chandlers. They don’t burn the roof of my mouth, my tongue, nor my stomach. I used to get walnuts at the store and then I quit using them and substituted pecans because of the problem I was having. Then someone gave me some Chandlers and I discovered that they did not burn my mouth or stomach. Now I can eat Chandlers and enjoy my walnuts. Sorry they are too mild for you, but they are just right for me. So please, as a farmer, plant a few trees for people like me.
LikeLike
I am very glad you found a walnut that works for you. Some people can’t even eat those so they eat something called sprouted nuts which helps take some of the tannins out that causes that sensitivity. That being said the majority of walnuts grown in California are not Chandler. People have been ripping out there fields left and right this year if they don’t have them. They simply don’t pay you if you have anything else. This is where I have a problem because as mentioned above. In the history or farming it has never worked to grow only one variety of anything. It’s dangerous. And some info for you, most chandlers are exported. Let me know if you are interested in a local company that sells them and I can help you out.
LikeLike