subject: My thoughts on choosing the right Nut Cracker for Soft Shell Nuts and Hard Shell Nuts [print this page] So you bought a handheld nut cracker, brought it home and tried to use it on a black walnut. How did that turn out? Well if it was anything like it was when I tried it, the nut went flying across the room and you pinched your finger! Believe it or not, there are many types of Nut Crackers out there. As we already know there are hand held nut crackers, but did you know there are Nut Crackers designed for soft shell and hard shell nuts? There are even electric Nut Crackers! I decided to check out different types of Nut Crackers and here is what I found.
Soft Shell Nut Crackers
This type of are best for pecans, English walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, etc. They're made to use just enough force to break the shell without crushing the nut. You won't even need a nut pick when you use these types of Nut Crackers. I found one that was featured on the Martha Stewart Show. It's called the Duke Easy Pecan Nut Cracker. It works great! It's adjustable for different size nuts, comes already mounted to a hardwood board and is easy to assemble. I bought one for my grandpa. He loves pecans and he says he'll never use a hand held Nut Cracker again! Soft shell Nut Crackers are on the low end of the price scale as well. I found a price range of $10.00 to $20.00
Hard Shell Nut Crackers
You'll want a hard shell nut cracker for black walnuts, hickory nuts, butternuts, etc. These usually have a longer lever so you use less effort to crack the nut. They have a place to put the nut so it won't slide and they're already mounted to a hardwood board. As long as you don't put too much pressure on the lever, the nut will not be crushed. You can use these on softer shell nuts as well. I found a product called the Hardshell Nutcracker that works the best for me. It's been made in the US since 1980. I like supporting our home economy so that's why I tried it first. It worked great for me. At first I found I was shattering some of the nuts, but when I put less pressure on the lever that stopped. Hard Shell Nut Crackers usually run around $40.00, but they last for a very long time.
Electric Nut Crackers
An Electric Nut Cracker is great if you have arthritis in your hands or you have children munching on nuts. They operate with one hand, little to no adjustment needs to be made depending on the nut size, and they're very reliable. With each rotation of the motor a nut is cracked and the nut is expelled. These are great if you need a lot of nuts cracked fast. I can already smell some home made pecan pie in my future! Due to the nature of this equipment, they are more expensive. The products I've found run between $170.00 and $370.00.Ruby Campbell
My thoughts on choosing the right Nut Cracker for Soft Shell Nuts and Hard Shell Nuts
