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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Cracking a Walnut

I think, immediately following global warming, poverty and war, the most pressing woe faced by humankind is the fact that cracking a walnut is so difficult. Access to its heavenly innards is made such a tough thing, which -- ahead of its price -- makes access to walnuts so difficult.

A kashmiri gentleman taught me today how to break the nut barehanded. God bless him! It's unimaginable that breaking the shell -- to break which, such heavyweight tools like hammers, concrete slabs, furnitures; such complicated contraptions like door hinges; and such tiring exercises like propelling the nuts at walls, are used, and that too with such minuscule success, and with such amount of mess that to salvage microscopic bits of the walnut kernel from the debris so created often makes the act of sacrificing the temptation to try cracking that tough nut look nobler than otherwise -- with bare hands -- even the most femininely delicate ones -- is so miraculously easy!!!

I have decided to tell the general populace about how to do it. And that ways, I will be satisfied that I have already contributed my bit to relieving the world of one of its prime miseries.

Here goes the method!


Place the nut vertically on the table or floor so that it stands on its sharp end. Of course, keep holding it with one hand so it doesn't roll away.
Make a fist of your other hand. Hit the top of the nut with your fist with the little finger end of the fist facing down. Not too strongly, nor too delicately. You will hear a cracking sound. In most cases, it won't be the sound of a bone breaking. It's the nut which is cracked! And that too into two neat halves. All of its soul lying bare in front of you to devour!

Can't believe it? Try it yourself.

13 comments:

tnc said...

Have u tried it successfully?...Sounds like a very interesting way if it works...

Unknown said...

Can you supply me some walnuts? Then I can try. And the introduction is really nice.

Pritesh Dagur said...

I'm dying to lay my hands on a walnut so that I can try this too! Not because of the simplicity of the process? But because then, I'll finally be relieved of this raving and ranting about this 'really easy' way of breaking walnuts! :D

Anonymous said...

But getting at the innards is a different matter

vD said...

Yes, agree with Anonymous. Breaking is one thing, getting the meat of it is another. Suzy, any tips on that?!

joy said...

hi sujit,

u are a master with words!! make the most mundane thing seem sooo...interesting!!! good that u shared this magic technique..i usually am not so fond of walnuts, well till i read this. now my latest mission will be to find a walnut at the earliest an CRACK IT!!!:)

Anonymous said...

Very intresting!

Wish I'd read this a few hours ago.. I saw some cheap walnuts for sale on MG road side walk.

Karthik said...

very interesting post Sujit ! just curious; is the picture drawn you ?

Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti said...

Of course. I drew it. Where else d'you get such professional level artistry! ;) ;)

Ritesh Toshniwal said...

Why such a big pause? No new post for a long time. Seems like IISc was much easier than Philips! ;)

Joy said...

IT WORKS!
Now I can make zucchini bread, woohoo...

Anonymous said...

I simply slam it against my head to crack the walnut. As far as getting the meat out. I say " Woman! Get over ther and get that meat out that walnut!" It's really rather simple if you think about it.

Anonymous said...

it does not work, It does definitely break the bones.