Aww Nuts!

Another year has slipped away and again we find ourselves in the blurry afterglow of St John the Babtist Day. And of course that must also mean another batch of Nocino is underway and that certainly is true too. As I did last year, I padded down to the local walnut grove with my trusty pole saw and pilfered a sack full of about seventy green walnuts.

Aww Nuts

I dutifully chopped them into quarters...

Okay, this one is halved, but you get the idea - they're cut in quarters...

And I stuffed them into jars...

4 liter jars with new rubber gaskets (try finding 3.25 inch rubber gaskets in your local grocery store!) 

So, now we wait. I'll add the sugar today and the alcohol tomorrow. I'm using an organic light brown sugar this year, but I still haven't decided what to do about the alcohol. As of July 1, Maryland banned the sale of 190 proof neutral grain spirits, so I'm in a bit of a quandary. I have to decide whether to drive into the Distrik to procure the good stuff or settle for a lower alcohol level using grappa or wodka.

This year I'm thinking of adding lemon zest and maybe vanilla. I've also been thinking of aging the Nocino in wooden casks. The native black walnuts are certainly more astringent than the more common English walnuts (Juglans regia) and I think a year in oak might help to soften the Nocino a bit. I've also considered reducing the initial soak time. At a minimum I hope to come out with two batches of Nocino. Check back in a year and I'll let you know how it went.

See Part I

See Part II

Nocino, Bambino!

Indigenous Eastern Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra)

A couple of days ago I reported on my experiment to make Nocino, an Italian digestivo. I noted that I was using California sourced English walnuts (Juglans regia) because they don't grow readily on the East Coast of the US, where your 'umble blogster resides. Now, I'm no locavore - I'd never be able to give up coffee or bananas - but when possible, I like to get as close to home grown as I can get. So having gotten my "imported" brew started, I began a quest to see if I could find a local variant. In my web wanderings I had run across one or two suggestions that it is possible to use the native Eastern Black walnuts (Juglans nigra), so off I went on a quest to find a nearby source. If I could find a tree nearby I would be able to provide myself and those around me with a plentiful supply of Nocino and save myself the forty plus bucks to buy the nuts from California. I figure the sunshine state gets enough of my money for their wine.

I scoured the area only to find that at the end of the street on which I live there is a thriving colony of mature, healthy Black Walnut trees. Under my nose the whole time, hiding in plain sight. The trees are technically on the property of a somewhat protective neighbor, but several branches extend beyond their fence, overhanging the quiet country lane, so I figured anything I could pluck from them to be a common resource. Regrettably, all but a few of the lovely nuts were well above the reach of my modest wingspan, so I was forced to employ a pole saw in order to retrieve a sufficient quantity with which to concoct my coveted elixir. So, brazenly I strode down the street to the very fence line, 9 foot pole in hand. I thought the neighbor might have bothered me, but within a few minutes I was all finished collecting my couple dozen nuts and was once again on my way with no interference.

The Black walnuts have rougher skin and a distinct piney (some say minty) scent. The insides looked pretty much the same as the English nuts, and they seemed to have more liquid in the core. Once cut and in the jar they behaved exactly the same, oozing their sweet black nectar overnight. So, the experiment will be much fuller than originally anticipated. I'll have a batch of Nocino Traditionale and a batch of New World Nocino. I can hardly wait!

See Part I
See Part III

Further Reading
http://graduallygreener.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/foraged-nocino-green-walnut-liqueur/
http://greengabbro.net/2011/07/18/this-years-nocino-recipe/

Raise a glass to John the Babtist

Some time ago I wrote a post about a delightful homemade walnut digestivo given to me by a friend from Switzerland. He knew of my love for Nocino from my raving about an experience from a few years back in a small Italian village in Emilia-Romagna called Brisighella and the alluring concoction they make there. Ah, the romance of Italy! The gustatory loveliness of Emilia-Romagna! The mystique of ancient tradition! What exotic luxury. Well, as it turns out Nocino is not as complicated as a Swiss watch, and the interweb is loaded with recipes for the stuff, so I figured, what the hell, and give it a try.

Time to make some Nocino

But I don't live in Italy's breadbasket, so where on earth am I going to find green walnuts? It's nearly St. John the Babtist's day, the traditional day on which, with the dew still on them, you are to pick the unripe walnuts. Further complicating the matter is the fact that the recipe calls for the English walnut (Juglans regia) which doesn't commonly grow on the East Coast of the US. We have Eastern Black walnuts (Juglans nigra) but not English walnuts. So, time to turn to Syber Space.

I found a farm in California called Haag Walnut Farm that seems to specifically cater to the needs of Nocino makers among other walnut enthusiasts. Five pounds of green English walnuts for $42.25, shipped. I figure I'll get two batches of Nocino for that (25 walnuts apiece) so while it's certainly pricier than I might prefer, for the first batch I'm happy just to have found them. And the nuts themselves, which took about 5 days from the tree to my front door, are clean and largely free of blemishes. Given that Nocino della Cristina Napa Valley Walnut Liqueur is sold for about $30 for a 375 ml bottle, I am happy.

Pure spirits! Grain alcohol and Grappa. 

I found some 4.2 liter jars at the local Homegoods store that seem to be just about the right size. I then procured the appropriate quantities of Everclear which in an unexpected twist proved both challenging and enlightening. I found myself  in the state of Virginia last weekend and decided to pick up the booze there. It turns out though that in the Old Dominion, the state monopoly liquor stores refuse to sell neutral grain spirits, presumably on moral grounds. So, although I could have swung by the Chantilly Gun Show and picked up an assault rifle and 30 round clip with no background check, I could not buy pure grain alcohol there. To buy pure alcohol I'd have to go to either DC or Maryland. I guess there's a certain logic to states with strict gun control laws letting you buy strong alcohol and a state with virtually no gun control forbidding you to make "grain punch." I'm just confused about which one is the "nanny state." Anyway, upon returning to the People's Republic of Maryland I exercised my god given right to buy Everclear, and am now ready to make a delicate after dinner drink with it.

I have decided to start at the source and follow the "Nocino Recipe According to the Ancient Tradition of the Order of Nocino Modenese" (PDF). As this is my first attempt, I am opting to keep it simple, using no lemon zest or cloves, ingredients found in lots of recipes. I have opted to use raw sugar rather than refined white sugar, and may add a touch of Grappa to the mix in addition to the pure grain alcohol. I presume such choices will produce a distinct product I can call my own, and though I'm sure some Europeans I know will scoff at the raw sugar and the potential molasses flavor it may impart, I'm remaining stubborn on the issue.

Overnight the walnuts sweat their lovely nectar

Having assembled all the ingredients, I started by putting on some appropriate music to set the mood. I then proceeded to chop the nuts into quarters, 25 and 27 nuts to a batch, respectively. Like the admonition that you MUST pick the nuts while the morning dew of the dia de San Giovanni di Battista is still on them, apparently you MUST use an odd number of nuts. Why? Probably some old wives tale. There do seem to be a lot of old wives in Italy.

Well, obviously my walnuts were picked before June 24, but I did indeed make sure to use an odd number of walnuts for each batch, in the hope that the Jesus will smile down upon my little endeavor. I placed the walnuts in the jars with the sugar and set them where they would get some sun for a couple of days. By the time I looked at them first thing this morning, the jars had begun to fill with fluid. Ah, sweet sap of life! I will give them another day to ooze and then put the alcohol in. I'll post an additional update when there's something interesting to say.

See Part II
See Part III

Juglans regia

Small batch Nocino from Zürich, Switzerland

You can’t have any of this. You can’t buy it, and I’m not going to give you any. Sure, you might be able to buy that overpriced stuff from Napa. Or you might be able to find some Nocello and tell yourself that it’s close enough. It’s very good and it does come from Emilia-Romagna, but it’s not real Nocino. It has hazelnuts and vanilla, and that just isn't proper Nocino.

This particular Nocino was made lovingly by hand by a friend of mine in Switzerland and it is precious. So you can't have any of it. But you can make some for yourself if you want. Here’s a recipe. Not THE recipe, mind you – that too is not something I’m going to give you, and you couldn't get the ingredients if you wanted to anyway – but this will probably produce something palatable, and if you do it right, you won't go blind.   

All you need is about 30 green walnuts (preferably collected on St. John the Babtist Day – right around June 24), a fifth of your favorite neutral alcoholic beverage (think grappa, vodka, or grain alcohol), some sugar and spice, and lots of time. It takes a month or two to soak the walnuts and then ideally a year in the bottle before the sweet, black elixir reaches its final maturity. For your edification, here's a video of the process featuring the strangest Italian accent I've ever heard.

If you ever find yourself in Brisighella, make sure to stop by the Terra di Brisighella and pick up a couple of bottles. The olive oil and Grappa there are also quite good.