Grenoble walnut

Noix de Grenoble

What it is

Three varieties are permitted and Franquette is nearly all of it: walnuts from the valleys around Grenoble took an appellation in 1938, among the first granted to anything that was not wine. The rule that carries it is that they are sold in the shell and dated by harvest, and that date is the only real information on the sack — walnut oil turns rancid inside the shell as readily as out.

In the kitchen

Buy the current year and shell them yourself. Break one open before you commit: if the kernel smells of paint or crayon, the whole sack has oxidised, and no amount of toasting will bring it back.

Goes with

Roquefort Comté Pear Belgian endive Honey Apple

Same species

Fresh walnut Green walnut Périgord walnut Pickled walnut Walnut Walnut oil

In season alongside

Bintje potato Cauliflower Cauliflower mushroom Celeriac Chabichou du Poitou Charcoal burner

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