When I lived in PA I was surrounded by black walnut trees. I love the ripe nuts in brownies, pies, and pesto, and the unripe walnuts make one of my favorite foraged beverages: nocino. But after multiple attempts at making pickled black walnuts (a British pub staple), I’m calling it quits. Here’s why you might want to do the same.
A little background: pickled black walnuts are made from immature nuts before the shell develops inside the green hull. After several months in brine, they’re sliced thin, and served with cheese and meats. The flavor is dark, spicy, and sharp. Most people compare it to A1 sauce and I think that’s apt. But the first time I tried making them, the texture was terrible: chalky, grainy, and generally unappetizing. I took my jars, dumped the contents in the Vitamix, and made a steak sauce that kept all the great flavor but none of the unpleasant mouth feel.
I wondered if I’d done something wrong, but a few weeks later, at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival potluck supper, I tasted pickled black walnuts made by two other foragers, and they had the same problem: excellent flavor, off-putting texture.
So I asked around on all the FB foraging pages and groups, I sent emails, I even asked my foraging friends in person (gasp!). Without exception, no one who worked with Juglans nigra (eastern black walnut) reported success. I checked with the two foragers whose pickles I’d tasted at the potluck, and sure enough, they, too, had used eastern black walnuts. Foragers on the West coast, who pickled Juglans californica (California black walnut) were happy with the texture of their pickles.
This summer was an excellent year for black walnuts in PA. I harvested more than enough for multiple bottles of nocino and decided to give the pickles one more try, telling myself that if it didn’t work, I’d be able to spare the world of foragers from repeating my mistake. I spiced the walnuts with foraged flavors including spicebush berries, wild ginger, and sassafras root. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the verdict is in. I opened the jar last night, tasted one, and threw the rest in the trash. Didn’t even pause to take a photo (silly me). Spare yourself the time and trouble and don’t waste your eastern black walnuts. It’s not worth it.
I realize this isn’t a scientific study, but I feel confident saying that eastern black walnuts do not make a good pickle. The texture is simply not good. They’re not difficult to bite through, so don’t go thinking I harvested my nuts too late in the season, when the shell had already started to form. It’s perfectly easy to slice through the pickle, but the texture of the slice is grainy and dry and meh. Go ahead and experiment for yourself, if you must. And if you do, please let me know how it works out. From here on out, I’ll be saving all my green black walnuts for nocino, which is an unqualified success!
Just a big thank you.
We were just thinking of trying to make pickled walnuts and came across this article. We live in the Southern Tier of NYS and were going to use Eastern Walnuts. Now, we’re not. Well written and informative.
Thanks so much, John, you made my day. That’s why I write this stuff, and I’m glad I could help.
Thank you too! I live in South Carolina and love finding black walnuts. I can be seen gathering black walnuts that no one wants till they see me gathering them. Do they use them no. I do. I was thinking about pickling them and saw where chefs want them because the taste is better than truffles. Do you think the black walnuts in the south would make better?
Hi Norma, if you’re gathering Juglans nigra, the eastern black walnut, then no, I don’t think yours will be any better as a pickle. If you try it, and it works well for you, please let me know. I prefer using mine to make nocino, which is a delicious liqueur. Way better than the pickles!
I used to be able to get Cross and Blackwell pickled Black Walnuts. They were great with most types of roast beef. Similar in taste to Worcester sauce. Since they quit selling them, I’ve been looking for a source. I don’t think I would try to make them though.
I might try making them again with a different kind of walnut. I think it’s just the texture of Juglans nigra that doesn’t work well as a pickle. The flavor is great, but the texture…definitely not!
Amazon carries Opies pickled walnuts . . .expensive, as shipped from the UK but excellent. Have enjoyed them for years, and normally bring back the large jars, wrapped in bubble wrap. No issue with Border Services as they are factiry seal packaging.
Thanks for your post. I am in Western Canada and was hoping to give pickling a try with our new (to us) tree. I love pickled walnuts; my dad always had them as a treat. I’ll have to try to determine which type of tree I have first!
Thank you so much ’cause was thinking of making some pickled black walnuts. The English walnut is fairly good, (right texture), but not nearly as good as the proper black walnut. We’ve in South Carolina and have been trying to find a source for pickled Western black walnuts, but so far, have been unsuccessful. Do you know of a source?
I wish I did, but I don’t! I’m in NM, and it’s too dry in my part of the state for most big trees (except cottonwoods, Siberian elms, and Ailanthus).
I am currently in the process of taking the walnuts out of a tannin leeching brine. They were harvested on June 26 2020. I’m thinking about salt curing some of them. Any ideas ?? Thank you
Hi Vito, June 26 is about when I harvested mine this year. Where do you forage? That makes a big difference in when the nuts are at the right stage for harvesting. Are you planning to cure them in salt, like lox? What was in your brine to make it tannin-leaching? How do you plan to eat them? As you know from reading this post, I don’t find the texture at all appealing when they’re solid, although I have thrown them all in a Vitamix to make a very nice steak sauce. If you’re thinking of using the salt cure to make pickles, I can’t recommend it, but if you have something else in mind, let me know.
We harvested black walnuts in SW Missouri on July 6, 2020. A pin went through the walnut easily. The shell hadn’t started form. We salt cured for two weeks and vinegar brined for two months. Upon opening the walnuts in September 2020, the hull hasn’t softened. It is still rather tough. The nut itself tastes great, but the hull just didn’t seem to pickle. Are you familiar with this issue?
I’m guessing you have Juglans nigra, since that’s the state nut of MO! I’ve never had that exact issue, but as you know, I’ve been disappointed by the texture of the pickles, although I like the flavor very much. My guess (and it’s only a guess) is that you harvested just a little too late. It looks like SW MO is zone 6b, unless you’re in a cooler microclimate. I harvest in zone 6a in mid-late June. Considering your warmer climate, your walnuts would ripen earlier than mine. Also, I use a skewer rather than a pin, because a pin pierces the hull and shell more easily, being sharper and smaller. A metal skewer or knitting needle is a better way to gauge the development of both the hull and the shell. It sounds like the outer, green hull was a little too mature. As I said, I haven’t experienced this myself, but that’s my best guess. Maybe try harvesting 2-3 weeks earlier next year.
Thank You Dear
In the photo, the walnuts shown are much too large to pickle – could this be the problem?
I just put mine in the brine. Picked 5 lbs here in mid MO – determined to see this through. Mine were small – same sailed as I ate a couple years ago – about the diameter of a quarter.
I wish you the very best of luck! However, the walnuts in this photo are the same size you describe: one inch long, which is about the diameter of a quarter. (They are the same size I use to make nocino.) Perhaps it’s just a matter of taste and you will love the texture. But at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival, multiple foragers have brought in pickled Juglans nigra and all agreed the flavor is good but the texture is not. I don’t know if you’re finding J. nigra in MO or if it’s a different species (I hear the CA black walnut works much better as a pickle) but I hope you enjoy them, either way.
We just pickle them now for the amazing flavored vinegar.