Pickled Walnuts

It’s been an unprecedented Winter Holiday Season and we have all had to scale down our celebrations, but we can still enjoy small foodie indulgences to mark the last few days of Yuletide and look forward to a better New Year!

Yuletide in the Northern Hemisphere requires a cheese board with pickles served up at some point - and the most luxe accompaniment is a helping of pickled walnuts. The jar’s dark pickling juices disguise the walnuts themselves, which are carefully scooped out to be shared around on each plate. Their outer layer is black, the inner layer the darkest olive green, and their vinegar scent catches the throat. 

These are a traditional English pickle which seems to date from the early eighteenth century. The walnuts are harvested when young and green, before they have developed a shell, around June - so they are first plucked at the midsummer solstice, in preparation for the midwinter solstice feast! These young green nuts are soaked in brine for 10 days before being left to dry in the air. It is during this process that they turn black. These blackened walnuts are then placed in jars and the pickling sauce poured over them – the recipe may have varied but usually mace, cloves, ginger, peppercorns, vinegar, mustard seeds and sugar were involved.

They are about the same size as a large, pickled onion, but easier to slice through (no threat of embarrassing oneself as it ricochets off the plate like those tough pickled onions!). The taste itself is unique and seems a cross between the best pickled beetroot, olive, and soy sauce with a hint of sharp sweetness. The tenderness suggests young capers. Pickled walnuts complement strong cheeses or even slices of sturdy ham and cold cuts of turkey. They were mentioned as a condiment by Dickens in the Pickwick Papers, and they are as Festive as his Christmas Carol.

They are a tad expensive but that adds to the indulgent enjoyment of their pickled perfection. A jar of pickled walnuts is a treasure to relish and there is rarely any left in a jar at the end of the season to consign to the fridge for another time! Savouring them alongside some good cheese is a pickle haiku, a moment of yum. Perhaps a glass of elderberry cordial, port or good red wine could enhance such a feast. 

Stay safe, Seasons Greetings, and a Happy New Year to one and all!