Carya spp.
1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.
The kernels of North American hickory trees, close relatives of the pecan, historically pounded with water into a rich emulsion used as a cooking liquid by several Indigenous nations. Never commercialised because the shell is hard and the kernel awkward to extract. The USDA reference entry is for dried nuts.
Also known as Shagbark hickory, Kingnut
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.
There is no human research on hickory nuts. Their composition resembles pecans, which have a small amount of trial evidence, but nothing has been measured for hickory itself.
Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.
AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.
| Nutrient | Amount | % DV |
|---|---|---|
| Macronutrients | ||
| Calories | 657 kcal | 33% |
| Protein | 12.7 g | 25% |
| Total fat | 64.4 g | 83% |
| Carbohydrate | 18.3 g | 7% |
| Fibre | 6.4 g | 23% |
| Water | 2.65 g | — |
| Fats | ||
| Saturated fat | 7.04 g | 35% |
| Monounsaturated fat | 32.6 g | — |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 21.9 g | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
| EPA (omega-3) | 0 g | — |
| DHA (omega-3) | 0 g | — |
| DPA (omega-3) | 0 g | — |
| Linoleic acid (omega-6) | 20.6 g | — |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin A | 7 µg | 1% |
| Vitamin C | 2 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg | 0% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.867 mg | 72% |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.131 mg | 10% |
| Niacin (B3) | 0.907 mg | 6% |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 1.75 mg | 35% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.192 mg | 11% |
| Folate | 40 µg | 10% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 µg | 0% |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium | 61 mg | 5% |
| Iron | 2.12 mg | 12% |
| Magnesium | 173 mg | 41% |
| Phosphorus | 336 mg | 27% |
| Potassium | 436 mg | 9% |
| Sodium | 1 mg | 0% |
| Zinc | 4.31 mg | 39% |
| Copper | 0.738 mg | 82% |
| Manganese | 4.61 mg | 200% |
| Selenium | 8.1 µg | 15% |
| Other measured compounds | ||
| Ash | 2 g | — |
Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Source record: Nuts, hickorynuts, dried (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 170177).
% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.
Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Polyphenol (class)
An umbrella term for thousands of plant phenolic compounds. Useful as a category, but a "high polyphenol" figure says nothing about which compounds…
Plant sterol
Structural analogues of cholesterol that compete with it for intestinal absorption. The basis of an authorised cholesterol-lowering claim at…
Polyphenol
Astringent polyphenols that bind proteins and minerals — the reason tea with a meal reduces non-heme iron absorption.
Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.
Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.
Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.
Allergy
Hickory is in the same genus as pecan and cross-reacts with it. Anyone with pecan or walnut allergy should treat hickory nuts as off limits.
Worth knowing
Several hickory species, notably bitternut, produce kernels too bitter to eat. Foragers rely on species identification rather than appearance, since the nuts look broadly similar in the shell.
Worth knowing
The high oil content oxidises quickly, and nuts left on damp ground can develop mould including aflatoxin-producing species. Gather promptly, dry thoroughly, store cold.