Pickled walnuts are not to everyone's taste but if you are a pickle fan, then you'll probably love these. We tend to pickle about 2kg of walnuts each year but could do many more as they are so abundant around here.
The key is to pick your walnuts young before the shell is beginning to form. You can test if they are ready by pushing a pin through the green outer skin, if ready, it should go straight in and not hit forming shell.
Wash the walnuts, prick with a fork and put in a brine solution for 2 weeks - change the brine after one week. To make the brine dissolve 225g salt in enough water to cover the walnuts.
After the two weeks, carefully drain and leave to dry. They will turn black if not already black. This is perfectly normal.
Prepare the pickling solution. We use a variation of a recipe we found on the internet and over the years we have adapted it to suit our personal taste. Have a look at different recipes and if something doesn't quite work for you, change it the following year. This is our recipe:
Sweet pickling vinegar:
1 litre of malt vinegar
500g dark brown sugar
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tablespoon grated ginger
Bring the ingredients to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the walnuts and take of the heat. Leave 15 minutes then decant the walnuts into clean sterilised jars and top up with the pickling vinegar. Seal and label. They will keep for about a year or until consumed. Great in salads, with cheese or savoury dishes.
The key is to pick your walnuts young before the shell is beginning to form. You can test if they are ready by pushing a pin through the green outer skin, if ready, it should go straight in and not hit forming shell.
Wash the walnuts, prick with a fork and put in a brine solution for 2 weeks - change the brine after one week. To make the brine dissolve 225g salt in enough water to cover the walnuts.
After the two weeks, carefully drain and leave to dry. They will turn black if not already black. This is perfectly normal.
Prepare the pickling solution. We use a variation of a recipe we found on the internet and over the years we have adapted it to suit our personal taste. Have a look at different recipes and if something doesn't quite work for you, change it the following year. This is our recipe:
Sweet pickling vinegar:
1 litre of malt vinegar
500g dark brown sugar
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tablespoon grated ginger
Bring the ingredients to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the walnuts and take of the heat. Leave 15 minutes then decant the walnuts into clean sterilised jars and top up with the pickling vinegar. Seal and label. They will keep for about a year or until consumed. Great in salads, with cheese or savoury dishes.
Delicious! Can´t wait to try this. I always wondered how you avoided the shell.
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