Pickled Walnuts
User Reviews
4.9
Pickled Walnuts
Description
The recipe begins by piercing green, unripe walnuts and soaking them in a salt brine at room temperature for eight days, allowing natural fermentation to develop flavor and reduce bitterness. After brining, the walnuts dry in the sun until they turn uniformly black. They are then packed into jars and covered with boiling cider or malt vinegar infused with cracked black pepper, allspice berries, smashed ginger, and brown sugar to balance acidity with sweetness and spice.
This lengthy preservation method transforms the walnuts into a unique, tangy ingredient often used in British cuisine for adding complexity to meats and cheese boards. The careful handling of the walnuts, including wearing gloves to avoid staining, is necessary due to their intense juice.
The pickled walnuts can be stored in a cool place and improve in flavor after resting for at least a month, with shelf life extending up to a year when refrigerated or kept cool.
Ingredients
- About 50 to 60 green, unripe walnuts
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 gallon water
- 2 quarts cider vinegar or malt vinegar
- 1 tablespoon black pepper cracked
- 1 tablespoon allspice berries cracked
- 1 ounce ginger about 1 1/2-inch pieces, smashed
- 1 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Dissolve the salt in the water to make a brine. Put on some rubber gloves if you have them, because walnut juice will stain your hands for weeks -- and it won't come off. Trust me on this one. Properly gloved, stab each walnut with a fork in several places; this helps the brine penetrate. Submerge the walnuts in the brine and let them ferment for 8 days at room temperature.
- Remove the walnuts and put them on a baking sheet and leave them outside in the sun for a day, until they turn uniformly black. You can do this step without gloves if you want.
- Pack the walnuts into quart jars. Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil and pour over the walnuts. Leave very little headspace in the jars. Seal and keep in a cool place, either the fridge or a basement -- you just want them to rest below 70°F -- for at least a month before you eat them. Kept this way they will last a year.
Notes
- Wear gloves during preparation to prevent walnut juice from staining hands permanently.
- Allow at least eight days for fermentation in brine before sun-drying the walnuts.
- After pickling, store the walnuts in a cool place below 70°F for a minimum of one month before consuming.
- Properly stored pickled walnuts can keep for up to a year.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 25Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 49 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 49kcal | 2% |
| Carbohydrates | 9g | 3% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 1g | 2% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 2272mg | 95% |
| Potassium | 24mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 9g | 18% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 18mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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