Forums:

The Green Fruits of Black Walnuts - Making Edible Products From and With Them

Posts: 40

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

posted 10 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Black walnut fruits are the least-known super fruits, because most of us don't think of them as a fruits

I am right at this moment harvesting fresh green black walnuts and adopting recipes for a number of products that can be made from or with them. Has anyone done any of these?

a Noir Liqueur (Italians call it Nocino)

a Greek-Style Candied Black Walnut Spoon Desert

Pickled Green Black Walnuts

Btw, the green black walnut fruit has 70–80 times as much Vitamin C, gram for gram, than oranges do. I am testing these recipes at each step, with testing strips, to see where the Vitamin C goes (or, rather, how it is kept) in the final product.

Terry Calhoun
Bratsholme Farm
https://www.facebook.com/BratsholmeFarm
20 acres, previously farmed with tree lines, 36' of elevation change over 1,300 feet of south facing slope, 7,000+ trees planted so far in previously tilled acres at a density of ~500 per acre.

Ann Torrence

steward

Posts: 1202

Location: Torrey, UT; 6,840'/2085m; 7.5" precip; 125 frost-free days

136

I like...

posted 10 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Sign me up as beta tester

We had some green walnuts in a sweet syrup at Christmas that were amazing. Wonder if one could do the same with pecans...

Owner, Etta Place Cider

David Livingston

pollinator

Posts: 4328

Location: Anjou ,France

262

posted 10 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

We are trying making what is known as Walnut wine here in France
Take thrirty crushed green walnuts add to 1 litre of spirit and some spices ( cinnamon nutmeg etc ) leave for three months and dilute with red wine ( three litres ) makes a great before meal tipple .

David

Living in Anjou , France,
For the many not for the few
http://www.permies.com/t/80/31583/projects/Permie-Pennies-France#330873

Terry Paul Calhoun

Posts: 40

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

posted 10 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

The wine is also on my list, David.

I am just loving the smell of these fruits as we harvest them.

Adam Hoar

Posts: 43

Location: NH

I like...

posted 10 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I believe I have a couple of english walnuts on my property but since there are so few nuts on the two trees I have I wont be using the green fruits for anything.

Check out Hoar Frost Farm on Facebook

R Scott

pollinator

Posts: 4146

Location: Kansas Zone 6a

328

posted 10 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

We use them for tincture because they are super medicinal, but so tannic I never thought about eating them!

You have me curious.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

Judi Anne

Posts: 46

posted 10 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I make nocino! Makes a good syrup base for pouring over ice cream or flavoring drinks.

I also tincture for medicinal purposes. It makes a decent mouthwash for those with dental issues too.

Corrie Snell

Posts: 89

Location: San Francisco, CA for the time being

posted 9 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Haven't made these, but they're very intriguing:

"Spiced Green Walnut" confiture recipe from Christine Ferber's book, "Mes Confitures"

"Pickled Walnuts" recipe from Jacosta Innes's book, "The Country Kitchen Cookbook," which, she describes as being "the most elegant accompaniment to a really good cheese."

"Vin de Noix" (walnut wine), two variations, from Georgeanne Brennan's book, "Aperitif"

I have sipped Vin de Noix on several occasions in France, and it is delicious.

Steven Kovacs

Posts: 263

Location: Western Massachusetts (USDA zone 5a, heating zone 5, 40"+)

I like...

posted 9 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

The Armenians preserve them in syrup as a dessert, but when I had them I found them so tannic as to be almost inedible. Mixed with other things (ice cream, maybe) it would be an interesting flavor, though - much as a little bit of pomegranate molasses goes a long way.

dave phillips

Posts: 11

posted 2 years ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Could you just pick the green walnuts prick them with fork then pickle them in the vinegar?

Everyone says “soak them in salt water for a week, then strain and soak for another week” to get out that substance tannins that has a strong flavour.

Tannins are traditionally moderated by aging: air seeps around the lid over its years in the cellar, and the oxidized tannins gradually bind to one another, and settle out as sediment. Typically this must be done very slowly, or the oxygen will attack flavors other than the tannin,

I tried just piercing with a fork several times then going straight into the vinegar and spices and left them for a long while, it’s a much deeper flavour.

But someone told me tannins could be poisonous or something well I have never had a bad stomach or anything.

I really can’t find any answers online why pickled walnuts always are soaked in salt water for a few weeks

I hope someone on here knows

Anne Miller

steward

Posts: 17591

Location: USDA Zone 8a

4507

I like...

posted 2 years ago

4
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Hi, Dave

I can't answer your question though I thought other folks might find these threads interesting:

https://permies.com/t/1674/green-walnut-wine-nocino-food

https://permies.com/t/130504/Making-North-American-version-Nocino

https://permies.com/t/45672/Cooking-Challenge-processing-eating-fresh

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Mercy Pergande

gardener

Posts: 372

190

I like...

posted 2 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Nocino is one of my favorite liqueurs to make!
When I was a kid, I remember black walnut ice cream. I never see it anymore! But I remember it falling in the flavor category of a good pistachio or butter pecan (with the obvious flavor difference of the nuts) and being really delicious.
I think that sitting around and cracking and picking nuts used to be more of a social activity, a way to socially pass time with a productive result. It seems like black walnuts are best harvested by hand and the decreases in people doing that kind of hand work has led to a decrease in the availability and popularity of black walnut foods.

"How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.“ — Dorothy L. Sayers

Rebecca Rosa

pollinator

Posts: 126

Location: Western Oregon (Willamette Valley), 8b

I like...

posted 2 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

You've all got me convinced to try out making nocino for the first time this year. We have some beautiful old black and english walnut trees and the green walnuts look to be just at the right stage for harvesting right now.

I'm trying to decide if I should use everclear or 100 proof vodka as the spirit. Whatever I do, it will be a year or more until I get to see how it turns out, but hopefully well worth the wait.

Observation is where intelligence is born.

PEP - BB10 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

We are the Knights of NEE! And we demand a tiny ad!

Learn Permaculture through a little hard work

https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp