It was tough, but we did it.
Aug. 31st, 2014 05:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Pickled Walnuts.
50-60 green, unripe walnuts
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 gallon water
2 quarts cider vinegar
1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
5 cloves
1 oz ginger, smashed
1 tsp mace
1 cup brown sugar
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 place on a baking sheet. Leave them outside in the sun for a day, until they turn uniformly black. You can do this step without gloves if you want. (But it will still turn your fingers black. Just less black than eight days previously. Trust me on this one.) Pack the walnuts into sterilized jars. (But it will still turn your fingers black. Just less black than that morning. Trust me on this one.)
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 such as the basement (you want them to rest below 70 F) for at least a month before you eat them. Kept this way they will last a year.
What worked: This is apparently a British classic side dish with charcuterie and cheese. "It was a bit like eating solid steak sauce." It's also found in medieval cookbooks with very similar recipes, albeit with honey in place of brown sugar.
I quite liked it. A bit more vinegary than I expected on their own; but it does indeed go well with a farmhouse cheddar and/or charcuterie. The wife agreed with the solid steak sauce comment. They were especially good with liverwurst and arugula in a sandwich.
What didn't: As you might have guessed from the editorial comments, my fingers were yellow-black. I packed them tightly as directed; however, unlike jam, the contents are not uniform density, so when I vac-sealed them in boiling water most of the lids popped open. Oops. I had to re-sterilize, re-pack less tightly, and re-seal. I also halved the walnuts to make them fit better. That probably contributed to the slight extra vinegary-ness.
Some of the green walnuts were getting on the older side, so there are some fragments of shell and husk developing. They were a gift though, so I can't complain at all.
Will I make them again? I don't have a regular source of green walnuts, and frankly a little of these goes a long way. I wouldn't say no to more next year but I wouldn't sob if I didn't get them. I would try the 15th c recipes just for kicks though, now that I know this works.
50-60 green, unripe walnuts
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 gallon water
2 quarts cider vinegar
1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
5 cloves
1 oz ginger, smashed
1 tsp mace
1 cup brown sugar
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 place on a baking sheet. Leave them outside in the sun for a day, until they turn uniformly black. You can do this step without gloves if you want. (But it will still turn your fingers black. Just less black than eight days previously. Trust me on this one.) Pack the walnuts into sterilized jars. (But it will still turn your fingers black. Just less black than that morning. Trust me on this one.)
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 such as the basement (you want them to rest below 70 F) for at least a month before you eat them. Kept this way they will last a year.
What worked: This is apparently a British classic side dish with charcuterie and cheese. "It was a bit like eating solid steak sauce." It's also found in medieval cookbooks with very similar recipes, albeit with honey in place of brown sugar.
I quite liked it. A bit more vinegary than I expected on their own; but it does indeed go well with a farmhouse cheddar and/or charcuterie. The wife agreed with the solid steak sauce comment. They were especially good with liverwurst and arugula in a sandwich.
What didn't: As you might have guessed from the editorial comments, my fingers were yellow-black. I packed them tightly as directed; however, unlike jam, the contents are not uniform density, so when I vac-sealed them in boiling water most of the lids popped open. Oops. I had to re-sterilize, re-pack less tightly, and re-seal. I also halved the walnuts to make them fit better. That probably contributed to the slight extra vinegary-ness.
Some of the green walnuts were getting on the older side, so there are some fragments of shell and husk developing. They were a gift though, so I can't complain at all.
Will I make them again? I don't have a regular source of green walnuts, and frankly a little of these goes a long way. I wouldn't say no to more next year but I wouldn't sob if I didn't get them. I would try the 15th c recipes just for kicks though, now that I know this works.
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Date: 2014-09-01 03:19 pm (UTC)