“O Mile” Nocino, or “when life gives you walnuts, make liqueur”!

We have a large walnut tree (actually 2)  growing in our yard, which produce a large amount of walnuts each fall. The only problem is, that the tree is larger than the house, and consequently is not netted off, meaning that the crows and squirrels get most of the ripe walnuts.

I had given up doing anything with the walnuts, until I read a recent post by David Lebovitz about making your own Nocino, a green walnut liqueur.

Needless to say, I was dubious, as I had always been told that the leaves and husks were toxic.  The last trip to the liquor store, however, got me thinking.  A 350 ml bottle of Nocino was $45!!!!

Apparently the harvest date in France for these is around the 23rd of July, but when I picked one at that time, they were a little underdeveloped.  This week, they were perfect, so I got everything ready, and away I went!  It turned out to be really easy!

Pick the walnuts and wash them:

Cut them into quarters:

Place the quartered walnuts into jars with sugar, vanilla, cloves and lemon peel, and pour vodka over top making sure the walnuts are submerged:

Thats pretty much it! pick up the jars once per day and swish everything around, until well mixed.  It will darken over time, due to the walnut husks.  The only thing left to do is wash the stain off your fingers!  No dear, I haven’t been smoking 2 packs a day, I’ve just been making green walnut booze!

Come back in 2 months, open and enjoy!

Recipe forNocino (Liqueur de Noix), courtesy of David Lebovitz

• 2 1/2 cups (500g) sugar
• 1 liter vodka
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 10 whole cloves
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• zest of one lemon, unsprayed, removed in wide pieces with a vegetable peeler
• 30 green walnuts; washed, dried, and quartered

1. Mix everything in a large jar, one that will be big enough to hold everything. Stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved, then add the walnuts.

2. Tightly close the jar and let stand for two months, not in direct sunlight, shaking the jar every day.

3. When it’s ready to bottle, filter the liqueur through cheesecloth or a coffee filter and pour into a clean bottle.