Pickled walnut

Noix confites au vinaigre

What it is

Green walnuts are picked before the shell begins to lignify, traditionally around St John's Day on the twenty-fourth of June and never past the end of July. The black is not a dye: juglone in the husk oxidises on contact with air, which is why Mrs Beeton's method lays the brined nuts out in the sun for three days before the spiced vinegar goes on.

In the kitchen

Test before you pick: push a skewer through the middle of a nut still on the tree, and if it meets any resistance the shell has started and the batch is lost. Wear gloves — the husk stains hands brown for a fortnight.

Goes with

Blue Stilton Cheddar Beef Tawny port Celery Bresaola Butter Rye berries

Same species

Fresh walnut Green walnut Grenoble walnut Périgord walnut Walnut Walnut oil

Also used with

Shropshire Blue

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