Nutcracker

Nutcrackers - tools to open nuts

Nuts were historically opened using a hammer and anvil, often made of stone. Some nuts such as walnuts can also be opened by hand, by holding the nut in the palm of the hand and applying pressure with the other palm or thumb, or using another nut.

With our local walnuts now available again, I've been trying out various tools to open walnuts. The best tool I've found is actually a Mole Wrench, which works fabulously well on all types of nuts. The only downside is that is doesn't look too good in the living room!

I initially though that the red plastic Drosselmeyer ConeCracker was really good, until the plastic cone broke opening a walnut. There is a reason that it's £30 cheaper than the identical aluminium nut cracker - it's rubbish. Avoid! DO NOT BUY THIS! (Amazon UK)

The wooden Hofmeister Holzwaren Mushroom nut cracker looks fantastic and at less than £10 is a bargain. The downside is that as you screw down to crack the nut, the nut tends to turn too and often only half the nut is broken. Still good and works with many different nuts including the almost impossible to open brazil nuts.

I'm not a fan of the lever-type nut cracker as it is not easy to apply lots of pressure.

Last resort, put the nut on a piece of concrete and whack it with a hammer!