Walnut in Ukraine

Persian walnuts, in Ukraine called Greek walnuts, are associated by many people with warm countries, where they actually grow wild, like in China, Iran, India. That is why, coming to Ukraine for the first time, you might be surprised to see them growing in almost every village or even city courtyard. Ukrainians like growing walnuts because they are undemanding and fruitful. After all, several hundred kilograms of walnuts can be collected from one mature tree. However, if trees grow too close to one another in the garden, the harvest usually won’t be more than 40 kg (88 lbs). It takes 10 to 12 years for a walnut tree to start to bear fruit, and it continues to do so until old age; sometimes trees live up to 300-400 years.

Walnut is widespread in culinary dishes.

The nut looks like a human brain and is widely used in culinary dishes, but not many know that if raw nuts are cooked together with their stillsoft shell, a wonderful jam can be created, with a delicate texture, and whose look and taste is reminiscent of honey. Butter is also produced from walnuts.

For many Ukrainian farms, walnuts are a serious business. Ukraine is the #1 producer of walnuts in Europe.
Walnut wood has a beautiful pattern and texture; wood from close to the roots is especially lovely. It is used in the furniture industry, for production of household items, and is popular for the interior of luxury cars. Due to its high cost, walnut wood is often used in the form of veneer, pieces of wood cut in very thin sheets. In the past, walnut wood was used to produce airplane propellers.

Vladimir Nevzorov

This article was published in the book Interesting Ukraine.
You could download this book in PDF file for free here.

© Sky Horse Publishing House (Kyiv) / Nahs Haus, 2019
Copying and publication of this article is possible only with the written permission of the publishing house.
Official website of the Awesome Heritage series: awesomeheritage.com

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