Note – this recipe for pickling liquid will be enough to pickle and pack about 1lb of fresh wet (green) walnuts. It’s difficult to be precise as all nuts and your chosen jars vary in size – but the rule of thumb is: you need enough pickling liquid to float the nuts as you boil them, and when packed in the jars the liquid must cover the nuts to preserve them. As the number and weight of the nuts will vary along with the size of your cooking pan, it is best to first fill your jars with the raw walnuts (a dry run if you like) then choose a pan that will fit that number of nuts with the volume of pickling liquid – so work backwards to deduce the amount of nuts to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh wet (green) walnuts
- 8oz salt
- A bucket with enough water to float nuts
- 2 pints malt vinegar
- 1 lb brown sugar
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cloves
- A cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Method
1. Prick the walnuts with a fork and cover with water and the salt
2. Leave for a week, then drain and renew with a fresh brine solution for another week
3. Drain the walnuts and lay out on trays in a dry, airy place. After a few days they will have turned black.
4. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring them to the boil, add the walnuts and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Cool and spoon the nuts into large jars and cover with the liquid. They should last for years.