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Herbs & Cultures

Cherokee medicine →

Kanuchi, hickory nut soup

Hickory nuts pounded shells and all into balls, which dissolve in boiling water into a creamy soup.

Traditional use

Time
30 minutes
Makes
4 bowls
Shagbark hickory

Kanuchi is one of the oldest Cherokee dishes. In October the hickory nuts are gathered and dried. They are then cracked and pounded with the shell fragments in a wooden mortar until the oil of the nut holds everything together and it can be shaped into balls. Such a ball keeps for a long time. For the soup you dissolve it in boiling water, strain out the shell fragments and pour the soup over hominy (cooked corn) or rice.

Ingredients

  • 250 g dried hickory nuts in the shell (or 150 g shelled pecans, also a hickory)
  • 1 litre water
  • 300 g cooked hominy or rice
  • To taste: a pinch of salt or a little sugar

Step by step

  1. Crack the nuts and discard the large pieces of shell.
  2. Pound the nuts with the small fragments in a mortar into a sticky mass and shape it into a ball.
  3. Bring the water to the boil, drop in the ball and stir until it falls apart. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
  4. Strain the soup through a fine sieve or cloth to remove the fragments.
  5. Spoon hominy or rice into bowls, pour the soup over it and season with salt or a little sugar.

Tips

  • With shelled pecans there are no fragments and you need not strain; grind them finely with a few drops of water.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    North America · Food · № 935

    Shagbark hickory

    Carya ovata

    A nut tree of the walnut family, with bark that peels away in long strips. The nuts are rich and sweet.

    Haudenosaunee medicine

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.