CookEat Recipe
Nocino with Green Walnuts
Green walnuts steeped with lemon peel, cinnamon and cloves to make a dark liqueur.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 30 sound immature culinary walnuts, still in their green husks; 1.5 litres potable food-grade alcohol labelled 95% ABV; 750 g fine caster sugar; 2 g Ceylon cinnamon, crushed; 10 whole cloves; 400 ml drinking water; 1 unwaxed lemon, washed, coloured zest only.
Step 2
Use only potable food-grade alcohol labelled 95% ABV and sold for making liqueurs; never use denatured, rubbing or fuel alcohol. This is an explicit modern strength choice, not a conversion of an unspecified historical alcohol scale. Measure carefully, keep closed and away from flames, sparks and heat, and never taste the undiluted alcohol. Use green walnuts sold for culinary use, before the inner shell has hardened; these are whole immature fruits with their green husks, not mature shelled kernels.
Step 3
Wash and dry the walnuts, discarding any damaged or mouldy fruit. Wearing clean food-handling gloves to limit staining, cut each walnut into four on a stable board. Do not force a knife through a hardened shell. Put the quarters in a clean food-safe glass jar of 4–5 litres capacity.
Step 4
Add the alcohol, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, water and thinly peeled lemon zest. Close securely with a lid suitable for alcohol storage. Leave for 40 days, shaking gently from time to time. Use a cupboard at about 20–25°C, away from sunlight and all heat or ignition sources; this controlled room-temperature setting replaces the historical instruction to keep it warm.
Step 5
A few days before the end, if desired, assess a few drops of the mixed liqueur diluted in a little water. If it tastes excessively strong, add up to about 150–200 ml extra drinking water to the batch, an estimate for the source’s optional glass of water. This is a taste adjustment, not a measurement of alcohol strength.
Step 6
At 40 days, strain through a clean fine cloth and then a food-safe paper filter until clear. Discard the walnut pieces and spices. Transfer to clean glass bottles, close and keep cool and dark. Serve in very small liqueur glasses. The 120 small servings are approximate; final alcohol strength and long-term storage life have not been measured. The listed time includes the 40-day infusion.
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