Hickory Elixir

2025 looks like a mast year for hickory nuts.

I used to make hickory "milk" from nuts that fell in Scott's yard.

His tree has been swallowed whole by English Ivy. When it succumbed the neighborhood lost its most prolific hickory source.

I don't have a good source for hickory nuts--the hickories at my place are in the woods and when the harvest is on I always lose out to wildlife. Best to have a yard, or a driveway where you can spot the fruit when it drops.

George has a tree like that. He brought me a bag of nuts. Making Hickory Elixir is easy:

Crack the nuts one by one with a hammer. If they are rotten, or worm eaten, swipe left. If they are white, golden and perfect, toss into a measurement vessel. 3 parts water to 1 part hickory--meat, shells and all. Bring to a roiling boil for a long time. When the whole house smells like hickory, it's ready.

When the mixture has cooled it will stratify: fat goes to the top--that's where the flavor is. Decant and serve. Boiled hickory flesh is the next layer. It's flavorless--but still filled with minerals and goodness from the forest floor. I sometimes use it in gravy, or toss it into eggs or soup. Last layer is the shells which goes to compost--presumably breaking squirrels hearts.

If the herbalists are to be believed, hickory trees are known for their strength. We use the wood in axe handles after all. They are also a flexible tree. They sway in the wind instead of snapping like other varieties. And hickories are slow growing. Harvesting their fruit requires patience.

Which means that when I do a shot of hickory milk I am taking in a serving of strength, flexibility, and patience. It's exactly the way to start the day...

I store my hickory elixir in a spent whiskey bottle--if you have one of those lying around. 2 cups of crushed nuts with 6 cups of water fills about half a bottle...