Nocino Alert!

We had a friend over for dinner, and in the rush to get everything ready, I forgot to remind you that the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist is traditionally the day to pick walnuts to make nocino. You pick them green, before the shells are fully developed. You can scan my site to find the recipe, but please remember to use only the zest of the orange. A little pith will bitter the batch! A reader found out from experience (on a particularly large batch, too). Only the orange part. None of the white part. Pick 21 walnuts per batch. Next Easter you will have a great digestivo!

If you did not do it today, you probably have about two weeks before the shells are too developed. Last weekend I was looking at a tree in Amador County, and it was definitely ready for nocino making.