Pickled Walnuts Recipe - How to Make Pickled Walnuts | Hank Shaw (2024)

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4.88 from 25 votes

By Hank Shaw

June 30, 2014 | Updated June 06, 2022

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Pickled Walnuts Recipe - How to Make Pickled Walnuts | Hank Shaw (2)

There may be a few foods that are more English than pickled walnuts, but with the possible exception of fish and chips, I can’t think of one. Chances are, however, you’ve never heard of them. I hadn’t, until several years ago when I ordered the meat-and-cheese plate at alocal Irish place called deVere’s.

On this place was a black disk. I asked the waitress what on earth it was, and she smiled; she’d had this question before: “It’s a pickled walnut. It’s good with the cheddar.”

I followed her advice and stabbed the disk with my fork, adding a bit of cheddar cheese and a bit of cold roast beef to round things out. Wow. It was a bit like eating solid steak sauce, with a little floral aroma and a zephyr of bitterness that just barely let you notice it.

I ate another disk all by itself: Fairly soft, puckery and strangely floral. And yes, there was definitely a Worcestershire-Heinz 57-A1-thing going on here. How had I never had these before?

Turns out that very, very few people outside of Britain eat them. This should change, which is why I am presenting you with this recipe. And the reason I am posting this now is because you need to get out and get your walnuts now. That’s right, you need green, unripe walnuts to make pickles. And yes, you use the whole thing, hull and all.

Pickled Walnuts Recipe - How to Make Pickled Walnuts | Hank Shaw (3)

I got mine a few weeks ago, after an unsuccessful fishing trip with my friend Joe. We were in the Delta and as we were driving out, I noticed a NorCal black walnut (Juglans hindsii) absolutely laden down with nuts. “Pull over!” Joe, used to this by now, did. I gathered about 150 nuts in less than 15 minutes. It was a bonanza.

I knew I was in business right when I got to the tree, but just to be sure I pulled out my pocketknife and sliced an unripe nut in half. You need to do this, either with a knife or a stout needle or a long nail, because you have to catch the unripe walnuts before the shell forms. Once that shell forms inside the walnut’s hull, you’re too late; the traditional harvest date in England is late June.

The process for pickled walnuts is not hard at all, but it takes more than a week. You need to brine the green walnuts for a good long time before they will be ready to pickle properly. The brine time helps with preservation and removes some of the bitterness in the unripe walnuts. Once brine pickled, they are pretty durable.

Do you need to sun-blacken the walnuts? No, but doing so gives you a nice, uniform look to them. Otherwise they will be olive green in some places, blotchy black in others.

Pickled Walnuts Recipe - How to Make Pickled Walnuts | Hank Shaw (4)

Once you have your pickled walnuts, what do you do with them? Look to the English. Traditionally they are part of a ploughman’s lunch, with other pickles, cheese and cold meats. But I see them a lot tossed into beef or lamb stews (pot pies and pasties, too!) in wintertime, and in summertime I’ve seen them served in cool salads alongside tomatoes, and accompanying shellfish such as scallops or shrimp.

4.88 from 25 votes

Pickled Walnuts

Any walnuts will work with this recipe, from tiny native Arizona walnuts to big, fat English walnuts, which are the kind you buy in stores. But you do need them hull and all, so this only works if you have a tree nearby. The pickling liquid in my recipe is very traditional; you'll see variations on it throughout England. I've also made a Chinese-inspired version with Sichuan peppercorns and star anise replacing the allspice. This recipe makes about 3 quarts.

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: British

Servings: 25

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • About 50 to 60 green, unripe walnuts
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 1/2 gallon water
  • 2 quarts cider or malt vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cracked allspice berries
  • 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 basem*nt -- 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

Note that prep time does not include fermenting time.

Nutrition

Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2272mg | Potassium: 24mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

Categorized as:
Appetizers and Snacks, British, Featured, Foraging, Preservation Recipes, Recipe

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Read More About Me

Pickled Walnuts Recipe - How to Make Pickled Walnuts | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

Why are pickled walnuts black? ›

Soaking the walnuts in brine causes a chemical reaction to take place and the walnuts turn dark brown to black in colour when exposed to sunlight. The now-black walnuts are then placed into jars and a pickling solution poured over them.

How to make fermented walnuts? ›

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.

Are pickled walnuts good for you? ›

They are a good source of fiber and magnesium, as well as vitamin E. Pickling walnuts will ensure that you receive all of these health benefits no matter what time of year, along with probiotics which are great for gut health.

What to do with immature walnuts? ›

The recipe for sweet preserves using green walnuts typically involves boiling the walnuts in a sugar syrup with spices such as cinnamon and cloves. The walnuts are cooked until tender and then preserved in jars.

Are black walnuts safe for humans to eat? ›

When taken by mouth: The fruit (nut) of black walnut is commonly consumed in foods. But the bark is possibly unsafe. Taking the bark daily might increase the risk for tongue or lip cancer. There isn't enough reliable information to know if the leaf or the shell of the nut (hull) are safe to use as medicine.

Can humans eat black walnuts? ›

Yes, you can eat black walnuts raw, but they have a stronger and more intense flavor compared to regular English walnuts. Some people find the taste of black walnuts to be quite bitter and pungent, so they are often used in smaller quantities or as an ingredient in recipes rather than being eaten on their own.

Why do you soak walnuts in water overnight? ›

Shruti Bharadwaj, Senior Clinical Dietician, Narayana Hrudayalaya says soaking walnuts helps improve their digestibility and also remove phytic acid and tannin. "Soaking can also help prevent indigestion as it helps reduce gas forming compounds. It also reduces polyphenols and increase nutrient availability.

Why do you soak walnuts in milk? ›

You can boil walnuts in milk or take soaked walnuts with lukewarm milk before sleeping at night. This will also help reduce the heat of the walnuts and reap maximum health benefits.

Are pickled walnuts fermented? ›

Cover the walnuts in brine and leave to ferment for 8 days at room temperature. Use a weight to ensure the walnuts stay submerged in the brine.

How many walnuts can you safely eat a day? ›

A 2021 article on the effect of walnut consumption found that consuming 30–60 grams of walnuts daily is beneficial for heart health. 30–60 grams is the same as 1–2 ounces or a 1/4–1/2 cup of walnuts.

Who eats pickled walnuts? ›

Pickled walnuts (from English walnut, Juglans regia) are a traditional British delicacy. The Royal Horticultural Society even mentions them. Alys Fowler's book, The Thrifty Forager (2011), says the walnuts for pickling must be picked in early summer before they harden.

What does eating walnuts everyday do to your body? ›

Studies show that eating walnuts can help lower your overall cholesterol levels as well as LDL “bad” cholesterol. Cholesterol can form plaque inside your arteries, but regularly eating walnuts can help keep your artery walls healthy. Walnuts may help ease the type of inflammation that leads to heart disease .

Are rancid walnuts toxic? ›

Can rancid nuts make you sick? Rancid nuts are not likely to make you seriously sick, but if you eat a lot of them, they could cause some nausea or diarrhea.

Can you eat immature walnuts? ›

I have harvested green walnuts as late as September, using them to make a less elegant (but still tasty) nocino and pickled walnuts with a hard, inedible center where the shell has begun to form. Foraging is easy. Simply pick the walnuts from the tree as you would any fruit and drop them into a bag.

Can walnuts become rancid? ›

Walnuts go rancid when exposed to warm temperatures for long periods of time. Heat causes the fat in walnuts to change structure, which creates off odors and flavors. Fresh walnuts smell mildly nutty and taste sweet. If your walnuts smell like paint thinner, you know they're rancid.

What makes black walnuts black? ›

It's time to collect black walnuts! The black walnut tree (Juglans nigra) is native to eastern North America. The outer husk of the nut is the source of dye. The colorant is juglone.

What is the difference between black walnuts and regular walnuts? ›

Black walnuts have a bold flavor while English walnuts have a much milder flavor. Another key distinction between the two is their nutrient profiles. In just one 1/4 cup serving, black walnuts provide 6.8 grams of protein, surpassing the protein content of English walnuts by 57%.

Why are some walnut meats black? ›

One of the more common causes of the shriveled nut meats could be a fungus disease called anthracnose. This disease mostly affects the leaves of walnut and many other tree species, especially in years with wet springs. However, it can also cause the nutmeats to become dark and shriveled.

Why do we grow black walnuts? ›

The fine straight-grained wood made prize pieces of solid furniture and gunstocks. As the supply diminishes, the remaining quality black walnut is used primarily for veneer. The distinctive tasting nuts are in demand for baked goods and ice cream, but people must be quick to harvest them before the squirrels.

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