Nocino: now it's time to wait

This will be the last nocino update for a while. After six weeks (and four days) of benign neglect (with the occasional shake), I decided to strain the solids from my infusion. It was a little messy, and I definitely stained my hands a little, but I now have three quart jars, each 2/3 full, of aging nocino.

As a reminder: recipes call for green walnuts, often not specifying if they intend that you use black walnuts or English walnuts. It appears that either will work, but since I was presented with both types of unripe walnuts, I made three batches, all based on this recipe:

1. approx. 26 unripe English walnuts, 2 cinnamon sticks, 5 whole cloves, 1/3 vanilla bean, 2 1/2 cups sugar, and just under 1 liter of vodka.. all steeped in one jammed-full jar.

2. approx 30 unripe black walnuts, 2 cinnamon sticks, 5 whole cloves, 1/3 vanilla bean, 2 1/2 cups sugar, 1 liter of vodka, divided into two separate jars (resulting in a lot more oxygen exposure, I think, which may partially account for the extreme inky-ness of that batch, but that's probably more a result of the nature of black walnuts)

3. approx 24 unripe black walnuts + 5 unripe English walnuts, 2 cinnamon sticks, 5 whole cloves, 1/3 vanilla bean, 1 star anise, 1/4 tsp grains of paradise, 1 liter vodka, and 1 1/2 cups sugar (because I simply ran out of room. I may add more sugar after it's aged.. I assume that's doable.)

The English walnuts were far easier to cut; the black walnuts were hardening up and quite challenging to work with. The black walnuts ooze a clear liquid that rapidly darkens to a chartreuse green and stains whatever it touches. Yes, including my fingers!

So, the photos:

Before straining. English walnuts on left, black walnuts center & right.

Strained black walnuts; nocino below! 

Strained English walnuts.

Black walnut nocino, left; English walnut nocino, right. 

The color isn't that different without the sun's help! From a distance they are both very dark.

Left, black walnut nocino; right, English walnut nocino.

Left, black walnut nocino; right, English walnut nocino.

Naturally  I tasted both. Eeuuuggghhhh. They smell good, and start off okay, but are NOT ready for prime time. I hope that a few months will mellow them out; one article I read indicates that they infuse from end of June to end of August, but don't actually drink the nocino until Christmas. So, we'll see.

To be honest, no matter how this batch comes out, now that I have access to unripe walnuts, I've got my eye on this recipe for next June! I like that the sugar goes directly on the quartered walnuts for a day or two before the rest of the ingredients get added.