NOCINO
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Author Notes: There is a lot of religious ceremony when making Nocino. The walnuts are picked on June 24th, the feast day of St. Giovanni. (In California the walnuts ripen a little earlier...at the end of May. ) The ingredients are all measured in amounts of 3, 7, and 21...all mystical numbers in The Church. Sister Marys Renata through SM Camilla would be horrified to know how little I remember of 12 years of Catholic School!) But, all ceremony aside, if you like walnuts , you will love this liqueur. You make it in late spring and it is ready to be filtered and bottled by Christmas. - dymnyno
Serves 1 litre
- 21 green walnuts, cleaned and quartered
- 2 cinanamon sticks
- 3 vanilla beans
- zest of an orange
- 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cup sugar(depending on how sweet you like liqueur to be) I use about 2 cups
- 7 juniper berries
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 litre cheap vodka
- Clean and quarter the green walnuts. They will be very soft and easy to cut. (wear gloves...walnuts really stain!)
- Into a large jar or glass crock, put the quartered walnuts, sugar , orange zest, cloves, cinnamon sticks, juniper berries, whole vanilla beans and vodka.
- Leave for 7 weeks, shake every couple of days (3?) It will become very dark brown.
- After 7 weeks, take out all the walnuts, etc.
- Strain the liqueur through layers of cheesecloth. Leave for at least 6 months, then strain again.
- Put into unique bottles as gifts (I often use old Knob Creek bottles ...I have lots)
- The Nocino will mellow and improve in flavor with time. I have a batch going every year---ready for gifting.
- Remember that this is strong alcohol and drink responsibly. I recently gave a bottle to two friends who drank the whole bottle...boy did they have hangovers!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Italian Dessert
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Edible Gift
Tags: after dinner drink, alcoholic, apertif, Drinks, walnuts
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about 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Awesome! I am hoping to make some this summer, just need to find a local source of green walnuts. Thanks, dymnyno!
about 3 years ago dymnyno
If anyone is interested in making nocino...NOW is the time to be picking the green walnuts...if you make some , let me know how it turns out. Or, if you have any questions about making it, let me know if I can help.
about 3 years ago NakedBeet
Eeek! This is great. I wanted to get some walnut liquor for a recipe awhile back and couldn't find any locally. Now I can make it?!!! Thanks for sharing.
about 3 years ago shayma
oh my god! i LOVE this. nocino is a fave fave fave. what better "italian dessert" is there? (well, many, but this is right up there, with the rest of 'em!)
about 3 years ago Loves Food Loves to Eat
I have homemade Nocino aging right now! I was considering adding my recipe, but you beat me to it... isn't it so much fun to make!?!
about 3 years ago dymnyno
It is fun to make...I have had a batch going for about 12 years. I always have some ready to drink or give away. Is your recipe similar to mine? A friend of mine made hers with gin!
about 3 years ago Loves Food Loves to Eat
Similar, but I used lemon also, and didn't use juniper berries, sounds like a great addition!
over 3 years ago Maria Teresa Jorge
Your Nocino sounds amazing, I love the sequence of the procedure. I live in a very very small village in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany and the carpenter in the village, who is one of my best friends, makes liqueurs out of every single fruit and even vegetables. I love going to his house to watch him making them and have learned to make them with him. His Nocino is also very good but he uses 90% alcohol that we buy here to make Liqueurs, Limoncello etc. and obviously is not sophisticated like yours because he doesn't add the spices and vanilla. I'll tell him about your recipe. Than you for sharing it.
over 3 years ago eatboutique
I'm in love with cordial recipes these days. Thank you for sharing!
over 3 years ago QueenOfGreen
haha! So much to love about this recipe! 1) the numbers (I'm an engineer, can't help it!) 2) that you have "lots" of empty Knob Creek bottles! and of course 3) the story about the friends! Guess I'll just have to try it! I'm assuming the vanilla beans are added with step 2?
over 3 years ago dymnyno
yes