Walnuts

Thanks to Cro and his informative blog I learnt of pickled walnuts.  A traditional english pickle says Wikipedia.  Well, you know how I love traditional things.   Now I have the chance to pickle my own.

Towards the end of June is the ideal time to pick the walnuts before they become the hard dried brown nut that we all know.  I happened to park under my daughter's walnut tree a few weeks ago.  There are walnut trees all around here and I hadn't even noticed.  They are all green and leafy and the walnuts on the tree are green too and well camouflaged.

                                

  I had a lightbulb moment.  A walnut tree, mid June, might have walnuts on it.

I sent Red Riding Hood to gather a basket of goodies for her grandmother

I cut one open and it looked just like the google pages said it should.  Still soft and white inside without any formation of the brown nut

I googled.

I pricked them all over with a fork and I left them to soak in brine, 1 litre of water to 100 grams of salt, for 2 weeks.

Tomorrow I'll make up the vinegar and pickling spice solution and bottle them.

Do you put sugar in with the vinegar, Cro?  Some said add a little brown sugar, some said 'never'.  I will treat them like pickled onions,  I add honey to those.  I'll add a little brown sugar to these.

One thing the walnut pickling recipes all emphasised was 'wear gloves'.  Walnuts stain your hands and clothes and the colour will be almost impossible to remove.  Smart old me wore only one glove.  I ended up with a black thumb but I look at it with pride as a scar of walnut wars.

After a few days in the brine the water and the walnuts go as black as the ace of spades.  Not to worry. I stirred them daily, changed the brine after the first week.

At christmas we'll be eating them.

I wonder if I'll like them.  I wonder if traditonal greek people will like them