February 11, 2004
Nocino recipe
This recipe is for future use, because you will not be able to get the green walnuts until mid-summer. Traditionally you will want to pick them in the morning of the Feast of St. John the Baptist. You will need 21 nuts per batch. They should be green, picked before the shells develop. You wipe them clean, but do not wash them. Quarter them and put them in 4 1/2 cups of vodka or grappa (preferred, but expensive) along with a few whole cloves, a small stick of cinnamon, the zest of an orange (be careful to remove all the pith), a branch of fresh, cultivated juniper (about the size of your finger - broken, not cut, and from a juniper that is out of spraying reach of local cats). Let it sit in the sun for 40 days, shaking every third day. Note that when you are handling the nuts, everything they touch will turn brown, including your hands for a few days, even with a lot of washing. The fluid in the jar will start to look like motor oil. Filter the extract into a large bowl through cheesecloth.
Make a simple syrup of 2 cups sugar and 1 1/4 cups water (bring to a boil, stirring. Skim the surface and simmer for ten minutes). Allow to thoroughly cool. Add the filtered base back to the jar with the syrup and the juniper branch. Leave the stuff in the jar until Christmas, removing the juniper around All Souls Day. At Christmas, filter the stuff again and let it sit until at least Easter. Bottle and wait until next Christmas to drink it.
When you remove the walnuts, cover them in sweet Marsala and let them sit for a month. Use this Marsala as an aperatif. Use the walnuts in homemade spumoni.
Be warned. Nocino will stain anything it touches. Be careful when bottling.
Questions? Ask and I shall answer.
Posted by erik at February 11, 2004 12:05 AM | TrackBackNo, I just quarter them after giving them a quick rinse in water.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at June 19, 2007 10:12 AMfrom the recipe i am gathering that you do not peel the walnuts?
Posted by: colleen at June 19, 2007 7:10 AMI would just count them and make as many batches as you have walnuts. 10 pounds is a lot, so you should get a few batches. I have never weighed them, even though the vary quite a bit in size. I suspect that weight is not so important, because there are quite a few variables: the amount of water in the nuts, the various amounts of this or that compound, etc. I suspect that you really have quite a bit of leeway, because there couldn't be too much presision demanded in a recipe of this sort.
I love the Bonny Doon grappa. Excellent quality at a good price. I used to live down the road from them, and would often go taste wine up there.
Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions when you get going.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at April 12, 2006 12:52 PMAbout how much do the 21 walnuts weigh? I went ahead and ordered ten pounds of green walnuts from the site someone mentioned above, for delivery in June when they harvest. Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz makes a good, not-too-expensive grappa that I'm planning on using. But I'm concerned about getting the weight of walnuts and volume of grappa and simple syrup right. I'm hoping to bottle enough to give Christmas presents of 250 ml. size...
Posted by: john b at April 10, 2006 9:15 PMHas anybody made nocino using grappa and is it
better/worse than using vodka
I have a walnut orchard in Calif, and I made my first batch of nocino in late May, using 150 proof Everclear. I tasted it when I strained it and was very pleased with the flavor. I am anxious for Christmas when I'll serve it to the family and some Italian friends that have never heard of nocino. Jim in Modesto.
Posted by: at September 15, 2005 9:39 AMwhat the hell does any of this shit have to do with moonshine????
I just ordered some green walnuts from these people in California; you will have to get in touch and order them fast as the season is sooner here in the states than in Europe:
Posted by: at June 5, 2005 9:33 PMDoes anyone have a mail order, or local Boston area supplier for green walnuts?
Thanks, Jim
THIS SITE DID NOT HELP ME FOR MOONSHINE!
Posted by: at April 7, 2005 2:27 PMJim, sounds like you have quite a nice day planned for the Feast of St. John the Baptist! That is a lot of walnuts, but picking them is one of the great joys of making nocino. The next time the day falls on a Saturday, I think I am going to make a big party out of it - breakfast, walnut picking, mass, lunch, nocino making, dinner, music, etc.
Ryan, tequila and vermouth!!! Aye yai yai, what are we going to do with you? You pass up two of the great ones? Tsk tsk tsk.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at February 13, 2004 3:33 PMI'll hold both of you to a trade as long as I deliver a quality product. The parcel will be sent post Christmas.
I've converted your recipe to metric (as Everclear is delivered in 750 ml bottles, rather than quarts) and converted it again to account for alcohol content. To give you both an idea, I'll find myself plucking as little as 392 green and unripened walnuts from an unsuspecting set of trees in the Blue Ridge Mountains to accommodate for the recipe. Certainly a task I'll enjoy.
I am going camping in two weekends to scout out my quarry.
Posted by: Jim Nocito at February 13, 2004 10:04 AMMr. Jim,
The only alcohol I have ever turned down in my life is either 1 Tequilla or 2 Vermouth. Send it to Erik and I will pick it up. I am sure you will be willing to accept some California Varietal Wines that will be sent your way in return.
Ryan
I am half Sicilian and half Canadian, a strange mix indeed. Culture to me is French bread soaked in olive oil and chunks of garlic, followed, of course, with a side of hearty poutine. Never forgetting to wash it all down with a bottle of La Fin du Monde.
I believe a trade is a good idea - if I can pull this thing off. Ryan, if you'll accept, I'll send a bottle your way too.
Jim,
I'd love to have a bottle of yours. Perhaps we could do an exchange? I also make limoncino and an artichoke aperatif (which is probably the one Ryan is adverse to, but you must remember that, even though he is quite a foodie, he is a Sicilian and doesn't even appreciate a good vermouth).
As to pure grain alcohol, that is probably better than Vodka. We cannot get it in California, so I use Vodka (or grappa when I can get a good price for it). I would probably use the same blend, but would be prepared to sweeten it more. Sometimes when a liquer has aged, I find that I need to spike it anyway to up the alcohol. For that I use grappa, but you would probably not have that problem at all if you used Everclear.
50 bottles is quite and undertaking. I admire your industriousness. This year's batch for me is five bottles, which is probably too few by about five, but we'll see. Maybe I will do a batch of something else this year to supplement it.
Anyway, keep me posted.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at February 11, 2004 2:16 PMJim,
I was just trying to give Erik a hard time it is an inside joke about his home-made liquors.
RAM
Thank you for your insight, Ryan. I am keenly aware of the taste of straight Everclear, as well as straight moonshine. Neither is very pleasant.
Some recipes say the vodka adds quite a bitter taste. I wouldn't know, personally, but I am inclined to trust Erik's opinion.
I am running a test Nocino with already ripened Walnuts. I know this is against the rules, but I wanted to see how Everclear faired against vodka. The recipe I found stated that this approach worked well, but certainly nowhere near as spectacular as traditional Nocino.
Nevertheless, Everclear is basically strong Vodka, so it must be watered down. Generally, most recipes call for 190 proof grain alcohol - of these, Everclear is the only one I am familiar.
Plus, in making 50 bottles, I'll need to consider costs too.
Yes and it should come with a warning label:
Warning: This stuff tastes like crap
Thank you so much for producing that recipe. When all is said and done, if you'll have it, I'd love to send a bottle of Nocito brand Liquore di Noci. Of course the season is far, far away. The song 'Anticipation' come to mind.
I wonder if you thought the day would go by without questions from your newest fan. I imagine, with your last statement on the post, you believed it wouldn't.
I've read and read (and read and read and read) about different approaches to producing Nocino. One major suggestion is that if you should have access to grain alcohol - go that route rather than vodka. (I will try the Grappa too, but it will be a much smaller batch.)
As I live in the Carolinas, procuring moonshine isn't the difficult task it might be in other parts of the country - if need be. Nevertheless, I'd still rather go the route of the famous distilled grain alcohol - Everclear.
First question - is this advisable?
Second question - as the alcohol content is nearly twice that of good vodka, what should be my target percentage of alcohol in the final product? I'd guess around 40% or 80 proof.
Last question - what brand and proof vodka would you suggest, if the Everclear route were the wrong way to go.
And, again, so many thanks. I am in your debt.