Growing Premium Quality California Walnuts For Over A Century
GoldRiver Orchards—producing quality walnuts for more than a century.
As a buyer of dried fruits and nuts, you have a big job. You’re looking for a high quality product at a fair price, backed by experience and a deep knowledge of the business. You’re looking for a supplier that offers expertise and can provide answers to your questions about product specifications, food safety testing, and plant sanitation standards. And it wouldn’t hurt to get information on crop conditions and factors influencing the market.
At GoldRiver Orchards, we’ve been growing walnuts in the San Joaquin Valley of California since 1912. Our business is managed by members of the 4th and 5th generations in the family business. And we’ve built a reputation for quality, integrity, and expertise that’s second to none.
We welcome the chance to work with you—and if a problem ever arises, we don’t run away from it. We run toward it.
Perry Barton and his sons rode to California on a boxcar from their homestead. After two years of careful study and consideration, he purchased land near the towns of Escalon and Oakdale, and the Barton Ranch was established in 1912.
The farm was originally planted to grow prunes and a few acres of walnuts. The prunes were removed in the mid-1930’s and replaced with walnuts.
The farm grew under the management of Perry’s sons, Paul and Bert, who also invented and patented a machine to remove the green hull from the outer shell of the walnut. This invention resulted in the formation of a manufacturing business that they named Barton Brothers Walnut Hullers.
Description
The University of California introduced the Chandler walnut in 1979 and named it after W. H. Chandler, Professor of Pomology, at U. C. Davis. Today it is the most prominent variety grown in California. The Chandler walnut is large, smooth and oval shaped with a good shell seal. Chandlers are known around the world and are highly prized by buyers for their extra light and high quality kernels. Harvested mid to late season, Chandlers provide one of the highest kernel yields of any of the varieties.
Characteristics
Shell: Hard
Color: Light Amber
Yield: 43 – 47%
Flavor: Excellent, preferred as best-tasting
Halves Yield: Low
Description
The Tulare walnut is an increasingly popular inshell variety, known for its high yield. A newer variety, the Tulare was derived from a tree grown from seed at the University of California walnut breeding program, directed by Eugene Serr and Harold Forde in 1967. Named after a county in California’s Central Valley, Tulares are harvested mid-season and continue to be a significant contributor to the state’s walnut production.
Characteristics
Shell: Somewhat thin, but thicker than Chandler
Color: Light when first shelled, but turns light amber
Yield: High—typically 47 – 53%
Flavor: Has more natural walnut flavor than Chandler
Halves Yield: Good, though not as high as Chandler or Howard
Description
Howard walnuts have steadily increased in popularity since their introduction approximately 25 years ago. A University of California variety, this large, round, smooth nut has a good seal and is harvested mid-season. Well known for its light nutshell color and attractive natural appearance, the Howard walnut features a large, light kernel that provides outstanding flavor. Howard walnuts rank among the top six varieties grown in California, which together account for more than 75% of the state’s walnut production.
Characteristics
Shell: Somewhat thin, but thicker than Chandler
Color: Light, though not as light as Chandler
Yield: Typically 43% – 50%
Flavor: Has more natural walnut flavor than Chandler
Halves Yield: High, though not as high as Chandler, due to its thicker shell
Description
Gillet was developed at the production research facility at the University of California, Davis and released to commercial use in 2004. It was named for Felix Gillet, a French pioneer who established the first commercial tree nursery in the Western United States in the 1860s.
The Gillet variety harvests about 6-8 days before Chandler. It produces a very large nut, typically with sizing that exceeds 32mm girth and can often average 34mm. Kernel color is light, although the color tends to darken quickly once the shell is cracked and the kernel begins to oxidize.
Characteristics
Yield: Typically 49% – 52%
Flavor: Gillet is one of the best-tasting walnut varieties available. It has a natural walnut flavor with a hint of sweetness, especially compared to the relatively bland flavor of the Chandler.
