Jam from young walnuts is a rather unusual and incredibly tasty treat. Those who have never tried it are difficult to understand how such a dish can be cooked at all. As a rule, they cook it at home, and in order to get a really tasty walnut jam, the recipe must be strictly observed. Having made a mistake at one stage or another, you can get a completely unsuitable substance for food.
You can cook it in several ways, but in any case, the nuts themselves should be collected at the stage when the hard shell is not yet fully formed. In all recipes, they are soaked in lime to get rid of bitterness, and in some, the upper part of the peel is still cut. Any jam made from walnuts (the photo can be seen below) is best prepared with gloves, because it will be almost impossible to wash your hands after contact with iodine-containing juice. In addition, burns are likely.
Walnut Jam (recipe with peeling)
First you need to correctly calculate the time when the shell has not yet hardened, and the kernels themselves have already begun to form. This period usually begins at the end of May, less often - at the beginning of June, but it is better to collect them ahead of time, because if the peel hardens, you will have to wait for the next year. You can check the softness of the nut with a toothpick, which without much effort should pierce it through. One kilogram of nuts is taken one and a half kg of sugar, 300 ml of water, citric acid, vanilla and lime. First, the nuts are soaked in a lime solution for a day (100 grams of powder per liter of water). Then another 10 days just in the water, periodically changing it. This is done so that all the bitterness is gone and a delicious walnut jam is obtained (the recipe also involves pricking each nut with a needle or a toothpick so that this happens faster).
After this procedure, the fruits are peeled from the upper peel (with a knife, not forgetting the gloves) and boiled in a solution of citric acid (25%) for 20 minutes. Syrup is boiled from water and sugar, nuts are added there, boiled for 20 minutes, turned off and left to soak for 10-12 hours, then again boiled for 5 minutes, a little citric acid and vanillin are added and after 5 minutes they are removed from heat. Pour into sterile jars and close. When using this method, the mass is yellow and contains less iodine than in the next embodiment.
Walnut Jam (recipe without cleaning)The amount of ingredients you need is the same as in the previous recipe. If desired, you can add spices (cloves, cinnamon). After soaking in lime, the nuts are pierced with a toothpick and blanched in water (5-7 minutes), then they are thrown into a colander and wait until all the water has drained. Separately, boil the syrup (similar to the previous recipe) and transfer nuts into it. After boiling the jam, it is turned off, left for two days for impregnation. Then bring back to a boil, adding spices, lemon or orange zest, and turn off. They are laid out in sterile jars, twisted and stored in a cool place. This jam turns black, very tasty, fragrant, and most importantly - healthy.