Nocino

[punkin]

More info in the Grunne Nuisse thread Joe.

[loneswinger]

Very intrigued. I have added this this to my "Must try very soon" list.
Damn. I love walnuts!
Thanks for the great information!

A friend of mine's parents live in Walla Walla and have two gigantic black walnut trees on their property. I was planning on picking a couple of boxes this June to make some nocino. When I come to visit your distillery this summer I can probably bring you some if you don't have access to green walnuts.

Am I suppose to pick them from the tree? Or after they have fallen? Picking from the tree may prove problematic because these things must be 100 feet tall and are just massive in every other dimension as well.

-Loneswinger

[loneswinger]

Apparently if you don't expose the nocino to air it will stay green. If you could somehow macerate, filter, and bottle it in an oxygen free environment it would be green in the bottle and turn black in your glass. Now that would be a cool product. Does anybody own or have access to a glovebox?

-Loneswinger

[punkin]

You have to pick them from the tree when they are unripe. You're using the fruit and the immature nut rather than just the nut.

I have a glove box, but it's a still air glove box. Just easy as to make from a tote box with two hand holes drilled in it. It'd be simple enough to introduce a sheathing gas other than oxygen if that's what you wanted. Argon or nitrogen or CO2 or some such.

stillairbox1.jpg (86.26 KiB) Viewed 732 times

[loneswinger]

You have to pick them from the tree when they are unripe. You're using the fruit and the immature nut rather than just the nut.

I have a glove box, but it's a still air glove box. Just easy as to make from a tote box with two hand holes drilled in it. It'd be simple enough to introduce a sheathing gas other than oxygen if that's what you wanted. Argon or nitrogen or CO2 or some such.

Yep, I figured I would have to use a lift or climb the damn thing to get them.

The tote box-glove box is a good idea, I can't imagine I will build one just so that my drink changes color as it sits, but you never know.

-Loneswinger

[adama]

The Nocino I'm making with cinnamon has the most sludge in it.
Before using paper coffee filters, I pour the liquid through a fine s/s sieve bought cheaply at a $2 shop.

[Joe Legate]

Yep, I figured I would have to use a lift or climb the damn thing to get them. -Loneswinger

I have a chainsaw but that might create other problems depending upon how badly you want to keep your friendship.

I don't think I have seen a walnut tree in Northwestern Montana. This could be another fun hunt.

Oh, and Thanks for the "Grunne Nuisse" hint, Punkin. Very exciting stuff. I still have a lot of reading to do but the information here is excellent.

[punkin]

You are very welcome. I should have put a link in.



Grunne Nuisse

[Rebel_Yell]

Yep, I figured I would have to use a lift or climb the damn thing to get them.
-Loneswinger

Get an apple picking pole.

[Oracle]

Order placed with:

Haag Farm (just like last year).

Should arrive in a couple of weeks.

Plan to simplify this year and go with just two recipe variations and then infuse some Marsala wine with one batch of recovered walnuts. Then, after recovering the "spent" walnuts, I will run the two batches through the still to see how the Marsala affects the walnut distillate. I am also going to sacrifice one batch of the nocino by running it through the still. Love to experiment...

Aside from commercial nocino (and variants) and other nut liqueurs, I have not seen anything on the market quite like the distillate derived from the recovered walnuts. Anyone else come across something similar?

[Bobtuse]

It's that time of year again, I just put up my nocino batch for 2012.

Not much different to report this year, It keeps turning out good so I don't want to mess with it. Only variance is that the walnuts seem to be further along in maturity than last years batch. I have a hunch last years were picked too early. They were picked at two different times, and while I should have done them as separate batches to be scientific about it, I just threw them all together. I did set aside a quart jar of straight nuts for Grunne Nusse, and the reason I think they were too early is because this jar never colored up. It was a pale amber after a year of soaking. and really didnt have much taste to it.

This years batch, the nut meat was distinct and on some the brownish skin typical of a mature walnut was starting to show. The batch colored up right quick. Im secretly hoping this results in a richer flavor.

That is the nice thing about doing a recipe over and over, you start to notice the details.

BoB