I’m afraid it’s a bit late in the season for pickled walnuts as they are ripening now and falling naturally. But if you pick them “green” next year before the hard inner shell has fully formed you can process them in brine, dry them out, and pickle them:
The thing is that it can take around three weeks to make Pickled Walnuts and depending on how old, and consequently tall, your trees are it can be a problem to pick them, as you will actually have to pick them green from the tree and poke through with a pin to test that the shell hasn’t formed.
Pickled Walnuts
Pickling walnuts is a three-week process from picking to preserving, it is dead simple to make a plentiful supply of pickled walnuts
Ingredients
2kg freshly picked black walnuts
225g salt
Sweet Pickling Syrup
1 litre malt vinegar
500g brown sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger green walnuts ready to be pickled
Method
In the UK pick walnuts at the end of June before the hard nut forms inside the green shiny case. Pick a bucketful and, wearing rubber gloves, prick each walnut a couple of times with a fork. Watch out for the clear juice this produces. It is deceptive, as it stains a dark brown.
Cover the walnuts with water and add salt. Leave for a week, then drain and renew with fresh brine solution for another week or so.
Next, lay walnuts out on trays in a dry, airy place. In a couple of days they will turn jet black. Now the walnuts are ready for to be pickled…
For the sweet pickling syrup
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring syrup mix to the boil, then add walnuts and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool and spoon walnuts into large jars, then cover with syrup. They will last for years. These pickled walnuts are great with cheese or cold meats, and make an interesting colour contrast on a pile of mashed potato.
