Pickled Walnuts

Very well written and packed with thorough research and lots of information. You obviously know what you are talking about and that is very refreshing. Would love to have seen some of these very old recipes you are talking about.

Contrary to popular mythology, pickled walnuts did not originate in England, or indeed anywhere in the English-speaking world. The tree itself, Jugans regia, is also mistakenly known as the English Walnut, which might explain how this misunderstanding is perpetuated. In fact, the more accurate common name for this species is the Persian Walnut, as it is this part of the world where its cultivation first began, perhaps as much as 8,000 years ago. It was in Persia, or more broadly, in south central Asia, that the tree we now know as the English Walnut was first grown as an agricultural crop, and it was very likely in this area of the world where pickling walnuts ...  Read the complete review

Pickled walnuts are a real gourmet treat but its suprising how many people have never sampled their delights. The nuts are pickled before the hard shell develops, so in essence (or in vinegar), you are eating 'baby walnuts'. What else is in the fancy jar apart from these underdeveloped nuts? The pickling agent is malt vinegar infused with allspice, bay leaf, celery, cloves, mustard, garlic, and lots of other spices. The wallnuts are soaked in this concoction which preserves them. By the time you eat them they won't look at all like walnuts. The characteristic brown colour will have deepened to a dark grey/black which is somewhat reminiscent ...  Read the complete review

Why don’t they break your teeth and leave you agony? Because the Walnuts are picked before they develop their notoriously hard shell. I once heard that it was the vinegar that softened the shell during the pickling process but I think you’d agree that a vinegar with stronger softening properties than Lenor Comfort Plus would be needed. It’s simply not true. Put the ghosts to rest (those people that have tried pickling Walnuts with hard shells, lost and now float in another vortex), the shells are not hard at the start of production. Anyway, NASA have been known to use the shells to cover rocket parts that are exposed to high temperatures so ...  Read the complete review