Nocino Recipe
Nocino is a walnut liqueur traditionally from Italy that is made from green (unripe) walnuts. The green walnuts are about the size of an egg when you harvest them, and the insides have not hardened so...
musings from the farm
Nocino
Now that fall is here, and the last push for putting up the harvest and winter preparation has arrived, I reflect on the year and plant those seeds of hope that will lie under the dark, cold blanket of snow for the next six months. But fall is also when I literally reap the bounty of the seeds of hope I planted and tended all spring and summer. Of the many things that I did right this year, the wool harvest has given me luscious yarn for all my winter knitting projects. (I’m taking a stab at colorwork this year! I mastered cables last winter, so I’m looking forward to learning this new technique. Plus, I want to design my own patterns. I can’t wait to curl up in front of the fireplace!)
And, I will soon get to uncork my Nocino.
My friend David Winters introduced me to Nocino this summer.
David is a bit of a hobby fermenter and got his recipe for Nocino out of the book True Brews by Emma Christensen. Nocino is a walnut liqueur traditionally from Italy that is made from green (unripe) walnuts. You can use any type of unripe walnuts; David and I used black walnuts because they grow wild on our properties. The green walnuts are about the size of an egg when you harvest them, and the insides have not hardened so they are more of a jelly consistency. You can slice right through them.
Folklore has it that maidens should harvest the walnuts barefoot on the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24). Now, I am not a maiden and my walnut trees are surrounded by multiflora rose briars and poison ivy, so whatever good fortune is supposed to befall those who drink my Nocino will be lacking.
Nevertheless, even the smell left on my hands from the walnuts bodes well for the flavor of the drink. The spiced, savory liqueur is bittersweet, and served as an aperitif with digestive benefits or mixed into various desserts. You can make a posset by whipping Nocino with heavy cream, which causes the cream to seize and form a custard-like texture. The longer Nocino ages, the milder and more nuanced it becomes, but I’m told that Thanksgiving is the earliest you should enjoy a bottle of this year’s brew. Since butternut trees develop their nuts later in the season, I’ll harvest green butternuts (white walnuts) this September and try making a batch with them.”
If I find myself succumbing to the darkness this winter, I can at least console myself with a pair of knitting needles and some soothing Nocino.
After researching Nocino, I discovered there are hundreds of recipes. Many families in Italy have their own special one, so my recipe is a culmination of several using the aromatics I had on hand.
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