Unripe young walnuts are an excellent base for an exotic and tasty preserve. Making it is a challenge - it will take quite a long time to cook - but it’s well worth the effort. Even if you don’t add any spices and extracts, the taste of the jam will be extraordinary and will please you and your guests.
Ingredients:
- walnuts of milky-wax ripeness - 1000 gr (2.2 lbs).
- sugar - 1000 gr (2.2 lbs).
- purified water - 300 ml (10 oz).
You need to pick unripe walnuts, already large, but still quite soft. Pierce the shells with an ordinary dinner fork. You will also need medical disposable gloves, 2 pairs, and a lot of water for soaking and cooking the nuts.
Use gloves to manage the nuts - to collect and pierce them. It is important to wear gloves at all times because the walnut juice will stain your skin a rich brown color.
All walnuts should be thoroughly washed and cleaned with a brush. Then, cut off the stems and damaged areas on the surface. Pierce each walnut with a fork, place them in clean water and allow them to soak for 12 hours. Water needs to be changed twice a day throughout the following week. During this time, the nuts will get darker in color, exude an intensive smell of iodine and will stain the water. All of this is normal.
At the end of the week, drain the water, carefully wash the nuts and set them to boil. Cook on medium heat for 2 hours. To check if it's ready - impale the nut on a Chinese chopstick. If it slips down by itself, than it is ready. After that, drain the water, rinse the nuts and finally begin to cook the syrup.
Dissolve 2.2 lbs sugar in 10 oz of water and wait until it boils. Add nuts to the syrup and cook over low heat for one and a half hours. Pour the jam into the previously prepared sterilized jars. You can store it, or serve immediately. During the syrup cooking process, you can add cinnamon, cloves, vanilla extract and other spices.
Walnut syrup is perfect for serving with pancakes or ice cream. As a sweet base, you can use it to make a lot of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. The walnuts are very tasty and nutritious, and you can add them to any dessert of your choice.
