Pickled Walnuts Recipe - How to Make Pickled Walnuts | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

How to make fermented walnuts? ›

Properly gloved, stab each walnut with a fork in several places; this helps the brine penetrate. Submerge the walnuts in the brine and let them ferment for 8 days at room temperature. Remove the walnuts and put them on a baking sheet and leave them outside in the sun for a day, until they turn uniformly black.

Pickled walnuts are made from the fruit of both common walnut tree varieties: Juglans regia, the Persian, royal, English or common walnut, and Juglans nigra, the black or American walnut.

They are a good source of fiber and magnesium, as well as vitamin E. Pickling walnuts will ensure that you receive all of these health benefits no matter what time of year, along with probiotics which are great for gut health.

You can put them next to meats; lovely with a steak; they're great with terrines. They love mustard, vinaigrettes, purple-sprouting broccoli. I like them in a beetroot salad; to a cold beetroot soup I might add a bit of pickled walnut liquor. Very thinly sliced and put in a ham, cheese and watercress sandwich.

Note the bubbles. The walnuts will ferment naturally with no added liquid.

To make rancid walnuts tasty again, a "chemical engineer" (consulted for this purpose) advises to soak the rancid walnuts in milk or other emulsive ingredient which is then rinsed off with hot water, and the nuts gently dried and roasted with sea salt.

A traditional English accompaniment to cold meats and blue cheeses, pickled walnuts have a buttery texture and sharp flavour with a hint of nuttiness that's curiously addictive.

Walnuts should be soaked because doing so makes them easier for the body to digest than eating them raw. The phytic acid found in nuts, which is reduced by soaking walnuts, contributes to increased absorption as well. Raw walnut digestion may be more difficult for those with weak gut.

Pickling is the process of using an acidic brine to preserve a food. Acidic brines are made with either salty water, sugar water, lemon juice, or vinegar. Either substance (or sometimes a combination of them) is poured over vegetables, fruit, meat or fish which are then placed in a tight jar for a few days.

Eating walnuts every day reduces your blood pressure and blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and apolipoprotein B, protecting your heart. Walnuts also contain fiber, which is good for digestive health and prevents colon cancer.

How many walnuts can you safely eat a day? ›

A 2021 article on the effect of walnut consumption found that consuming 30–60 grams of walnuts daily is beneficial for heart health. 30–60 grams is the same as 1–2 ounces or a 1/4–1/2 cup of walnuts.

Pickled walnuts (from English walnut, Juglans regia) are a traditional British delicacy.

Walnut skins can be bitter, but toasting them brings out a richer nuttiness and makes those skins easy to rub off. Many of the recipes here call for toasted walnuts but even if they don't, there's no reason to avoid doing so. It will make everything taste that much better.

Top 5 Pairings

Although people enjoy a mix of sweet and savory flavors with walnuts, a sweet combination is most liked by all: (1) Dark Chocolate, (2) Sesame Cayenne, (3) Vanilla, (4) Sea Salt Caramel, (5) Coffee.

Put two teaspoons of salt into mason jar and add 4 cups of filtered water, stir until salt is dissolved. Put walnuts into jar. If water does not cover nuts, add more water until nuts are covered. Let sit overnight.

Omega-3 fatty acids, known for their heart-healthy properties, are more readily absorbed when walnuts are soaked, boosting cardiovascular benefits. Antioxidants become more available, helping to combat oxidative stress and inflammation, while vitamins and minerals contribute to improved overall wellness.

Fermented nuts are made by soaking raw nuts in water with yeast and salt for a couple of days. The process breaks down the fat molecule, which produces better flavor. This is different from how most people cook or bake their food as it requires no heat to digest this type of nut.