Black nuts

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 2 kg walnuts, green
• 2 vanilla pods
• 1 kg sugar
• 750 g gelling sugar 3:1
• 25 carnations
• 3 lemons, peeled rind (organic)
• 4 stalk(s) cinnamon

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

special culinary gift, great with cheese or game

Harvest the green walnuts around June 24th (St. John’s Day) – the shells should not yet be hard. Be sure to wear gloves when harvesting and handling them, as the nuts stain heavily. Pierce the nuts all over several times (I use a rolling pin for this). Place the prepared nuts in cold water – they must be covered. Change the water twice a day for three weeks, using only cold water. After three weeks, they are ready to be processed further. Cover the walnuts with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, then strain and refresh with cold water. Drain well. Split the vanilla pods lengthwise and then cut into pieces. Break the cinnamon sticks into long sticks in a mortar and pestle. This makes it easier to distribute the spices among the individual jars. Bring 2 liters of water to a boil with the sugar and gelling sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon zest. Add the nuts and cook in the spiced syrup until soft (this takes about 15 minutes. To test for doneness, pierce a few nuts with a needle; if it comes out easily, they’re done). Strain the nuts and all the spices and pour into jars, reserving the liquid. Make sure the spices are evenly distributed. Bring the liquid back to a boil and pour over the nuts. Seal the jars immediately. The specified amount will require approximately 15 jars of 250-300 ml each. Let the nuts stand for at least 3 months, preferably 6 months. This will allow them to absorb the flavors of the liquid even better.