California walnuts offer a unique flavor and texture, making them wonderfully versatile for both savory and sweet food product applications. As a result, research chefs and tastemakers around the world increasingly find new and exciting ways to incorporate walnuts. Try adding walnuts to baked goods, dessert bars and chocolate confections for a nutty crunch; to sauces and spreads as a wholesome thickener; or as a plant-based alternative to meat. Discover the diversity of walnuts as the perfect showcase ingredient in the biggest savory and sweet flavor trends.
California Walnuts commissioned consumer research, which includes insights related to walnut usage in packaged foods. The study, conducted by an independent research firm in 2019, fielded an online survey to 4,014 people, providing a sample consistent with gender and regional distribution of walnut users and non-users in the United States.
The mild flavor and texture of walnuts makes them a versatile ingredient for flavor profiles in a wide range of packaged foods – baked goods, desserts, confections, spreads and sauces, and plant-based meat alternatives.
Walnuts from California are sold according to size and color, ranging from light to amber, with lighter walnuts being the most popular for aesthetic reasons. See the Size & Color section to find the right fit for your needs.
Walnuts are nutrient-rich and add value consumers will recognize and appreciate. As a topping, inclusion in a chocolate confection, a crust or a creamy center, California walnuts are an ideal ingredient for food professionals looking to deliver new creative products without sacrificing flavor, texture or nutrition.
California walnuts are a whole food contributing many beneficial nutrients to the diet. For example, walnuts are the only nut to contain a significant amount of the plant-based omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (2.5 grams per ounce of English walnuts or 9g per 100g).
More than 99% of the walnuts in the U.S. are grown in the fertile soils of California’s Central Valley. Internationally, California supplies two-thirds of the world’s walnut trade.
It’s a long road from planting a walnut orchard to delivering fresh, delicious walnuts to food professionals. Each step in the process from propagation, to harvest, to packer, and finally to market, is handled with care and attention. There are 4,800+ walnut growers, a large majority being family farms, many of which have been in the walnut business for several generations. After a walnut sapling is planted, it takes four to five years for it to grow into an adult tree suitable for commercial harvesting. Although many varieties of walnuts are grown in California, four varieties account for over 90% of the market and are similar in their taste and functionality.
The harvest begins in late August, when the outer green hulls start to split, allowing the in-shell walnuts to be removed, and continues through late November.
First, the orchard floor is swept clean. Then, mechanical shakers vigorously shake each tree and thousands of walnuts fall to the ground. The walnuts are then carefully swept into windrows to allow mechanical harvesters to pick them up for cleaning.
Walnuts are transported to a packing plant where they are graded based on usage, in-shell or shelled.
Shelled walnuts are further graded by color, as shown in the walnut color chart.
Walnut kernels are screened and separated into different sizes (refer to Size and Color chart).
The walnut industry has had an exceptional track record for food safety for over a century. Food Safety is critically important to the California Walnut Industry. California walnuts are grown and processed under strict quality control standards in order to deliver a high quality product year round.
