Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

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Odin
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Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Just back from a fantastic holiday in Hungary. Visited castles, palaces, lake Balaton and Budapest. Bought a traditional Hungarian "Bograc". Sorta pan hanging from a tripod. Build a fireplace, together with my son. Chopped wood, made a traditional veal stew in it and it was good.

But that is not what this post is about. This post is about something better. It is about Walnut Brandy or - as it is called in Hungary: "Dio Palinka".

When my stew was ready, I had my neighbour, a 79 year old Hungarian former professor in electrotechnology, taste some. He liked it. I threw in some apple pie and Limoncello, and he liked that too. It turned out he had done a lot of home distilling himself. Peaches brandywine, plume brandy. All kinds of fruit brandies, actually. And a fruit brandy in Hungarian is "palinka".

He told me about fermentation, he told me about cuts. He even told me he had an old potstill somewhere on the first floor. And he told me his best "palinka" was actually Dio Palinka or Walnut Brandy. :crazy: So I asked him ... "how much sugar is in wallnuts?" And he told me there ain't much. The wallnuts are used to flavour a brandy. Often it is made when the pulp got burned. That makes the palinka (as a fruit brandy) less tasty. But with the flavouring of the walnuts, you don't smell or taste that anymore.

Anhyow, next thing I know, Jáncsi Bácsi (Uncle John?) walks back to his house, only to come back with a bottle of home made walnut brandy. Dark, allmost black in colour. Over 60% strong (he tripple distilled the base likker). Sweet, tasty, no hind of heads or tails. No hind of it being 60% either. Very smooth, very nice.

I decided I really wanted to know more about this recipe and we agreed I would visit him the next day. He told me a thing or two. I then did some research at the family in law, and this is what I come up with.

Dió Pálinka / Walnut Brandy

Even though this recipe is originally made from a grappa brandywine, no taste of that base drink remains. That means this drink can be made from a (close to) neutral as well, and that will be my starting point. Another change I made, is that I lowered the ABV. The original drank I had was over 60%. Most Hungarians like their housemade palinka's at around (or slightly above) 50%.

Ingredients for 1.5 liters of walnut brandy (scalable):

Green walnuts (12), sliced
Cloves (6)
Cinnamon stick (1)
White granulated sugar (250 grams = 1 cup)
Water (half a liter = 2 cups)
Neutral of 75% (1 liter = 1/4th of a galon)

Method:

Cook the green walnuts, cloves, cinnamon and sugar in the 0.5 liter of water for just a minute.
Let it cool.
Poor everything into a 1.5 liter (or 2 liter) bottle.
Add the 1 liter of 75% neutral and mix well.
Close the bottle and let it sit at room temp for 2 weeks.
Filter the contents thru a coffee filter.

You now have 1.5 liter of 50% Walnut Brandy. Enjoy!

I will look around for green walnuts. Not sure I can find them over here. If any of you can find them, please go ahead and try this recipe. And please let me know if you like it!

Regards, Odin.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Steep-n-Rocky »

Thanks Odin, that is a very interesting recipe! Are green walnuts a type of walnut or just immature walnuts?
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Steep & Rocky,

They are just immature walnuts, with the green stuff still around them. Just read some articles on Dutch and Flemish walnut liquere making. And they say the walnuts should be plukked before Saint John's Day. Now that is the 24th of June, so I might be too late to try this recipe still this year. Just emailed around a bit to see if I can find those immature nuts anywhere around.

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

Sounds like a Nocino variation. I have some I made around three years ago. The stuff is awesome. I make it without sugar. Still has a sweetness, tho. It's rich, intense and yummy.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Blind drunk,

I just looked up "nocino" and I think it comes close indeed! Anhow, It is a recipe open to further development. So far I have found a recipe from the Hungarian Household book of 1892 that has a bit more cloves in it. And a little less walnuts. Another recipe I found had orange peel added, as well as some raisins (dried grapes) and a vanilla bean.

I decided to keep is simple and start from there. If the base drink is good, it is easy to add some of this or that.

Found a few walnut trees closeby. Friend of mine lives in a monastery and they have like 6 or 7. Fruits are not yet ripened and didn't fell of the tree yet. I will probably go over to meet him (and collect the nuts) next Friday. Need to make me some neutral soon ...

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

Another recipe I found had orange peel added, as well as some raisins (dried grapes) and a vanilla bean.
Those sound like good ideas. My mother's recipe included quinine bark, but when I made mine, I couldn't find it anywhere. But now I know who sells it around here. So next time, I will add some.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Washashore »

Very interesting Odin. I have two nut macerations aging right now. One is a toasted pistachio nut and the other is almond with apricots (sort of like Amaretto). The pistachio is a couple weeks old and smells/tastes delicious.... I'm holding out for at least a few more months.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Washashore, the waiting is the most difficult part ...

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Steep-n-Rocky »

Per a quick search, it looks like our local black walnuts can be used too. Unfortunately they should be picked around June 24th as well. It's on the calendar for next year!
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Juglans Regia is the European variety I will be using. Juglans Nigra is the so called black walnut; an American variety. The American variety gives off more natural pesticides through its root system. Nothing grows underneath. I read that the nuts of both varieties can be eaten.

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Steep-n-Rocky »

Black walnut very common around here and it is true, many of the rosaceae plants, tomato plants, etc. will not grow around it. A noted exception are Rubus species, especially black raspberry. Working on gathering enough wild plums for a plum palinka soon.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by frozenthunderbolt »

That's a lot of clove in your recipie O, have you tried it, personaly, with this much in it?

I only ask as i did a spiced blackberry macceration that used cloves in it (6 in a 2 litres?) and it ended up a bit like cough syrup!
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Frozen,

Yeah I tried it myself and it was nice, very nice! There are more recipees out there. The recipee I proposed is already downtuned a bit for cloves. A very much appreciated recipee goes like this: 3 liters of palinka, 20 walnuts, 20 cloves, cinnamon. Twenty?!? Yes, 20. After some more research and discussion and consideration, I decided to lower the amount of cloves on this 1.5 liter recipee from 10 to 6. And up the walnuts a bit. We are after walnut brandy, not clove brandy, right? My experience from cloves is not huge. I tried it a few times when distilling my Dutch Gin. One in a 3 liter wash and boiling that for hours didn't give off too much taste. On a geneva that is. I think everything changes when you cut them up or use a mortar (?) to grind them ...

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

I use 24 green walnuts per double proof liter. I just found a tree in the city still with green walnuts. Even though it's late in the season, the weather's been crap here until just recently, so they're still green.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Steep-n-Rocky »

Blind Drunk, can you still slice the walnuts or are the shells set?
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by HolyBear »

Say fellas, y'all aren't talkin bout using the green husk of the nut in your drink are ya? Just the meat of the walnut right?

I don't know if it is a different toxin than is produced by the roots (juglan) or not, but the green husks from black walnut do produce a toxin that can kill fish. Me dad tol me that you can get a tote sack full of green black walnuts, run em over several times with a truck or tractor to mash them up good. Then take the sack and throw it in a pond. The next day, all the fish will be dead...

Now, of course different parts of plants can produce different chemicals. The fruit(or meat as we call it) is certainly fine, but I wouldn't be using the husk. If it is toxic to fish, its prolly toxic to us too.

The juglan is toxic to several plants. I've noticed that it seams most toxic to plants that are acid loving. Though some grasses will do ok under em and they like some acidity.

If its the nut that y'all are using, I would like to try the drink. I love walnuts!!! I really like butternut but they are so hard to find since the cancer started wiping them out...
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

Steep-n-Rocky wrote:Blind Drunk, can you still slice the walnuts or are the shells set?
Just got back from picking them and the husk and meat is very sliceable. Gonna start it when I get home.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Steep-n-Rocky »

Here is what the sliced walnuts can look like. They need to be picked around the end of June to be used as green walnuts. I do not know if August walnuts will work. I did check our local walnuts and the shells cannot be sliced through the husk (i.e. too late in the season).
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by HolyBear »

So you are using the husk... :shock: :shock: :shock:

Dunder, what say you???
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

The recipees clearly state husk and inside meat. Now the black, American Juglans is more toxic than the European version. Don't know if it extends to the husk of the fruit of the American version. At least not in the European version, since everybody uses them without problems.

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

Okay, I'm embarrassed. What I thought was a walnut tree is in fact an olive tree :shock: Bummer, I was very excited about making some dio palinka.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by HolyBear »

Fellas, before y'all make yerself a drink from black walnut husks,... I think ya better read this...

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=w ... RXqzhURJDw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I can't copy and paste from the PDF with my DROID to quote it but... juglone is similar to cyanide in its effects on people, animals, and plants.... juglone's highest concentration is in the husk...

Lets play safe fellas...
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Safe is good. But let's not panic.

But people in Europe are drinking Dio Palinka for ages. And in Italy too (Nocino). As well as in Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands. About Spain I couldn't find anything, but I think every country in Europe where the European Juglans grows, people use the whole fruit to make a brandy from. A brandy that is highly appreciated.

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

Plus, it's not a guzzling liqueur, more of a digestive or maybe as a warm little shot at night by the fire. Also good for stomach aches. I think of it as sitting somewhere between the likker and medicinal cabinet.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

Yes, it is a good cure for stomach paines! That is what it is famous for, actually.

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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Prairiepiss »

Odin wrote:Yes, it is a good cure for stomach paines! That is what it is famous for, actually.

Odin.
Now you have perked my interests.

But I am wondering if the American black walnut should be avoided for the European variety? I'm only concerned because I lost a whole ornamental pond full of fish from one black walnut falling in it. That I missed. I have heard all my life the husk is bad news. You didn't want them near your ponds. Or feeding creeks. So its a little hard for me to get past that. If you know what I mean. :roll:

So I will be watching this thread. Thinking hard about it.

And Odin where do you come up with this stuff? :lol: Sure glad that no more experimenting thing didn't work out for you. :thumbup:
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by blind drunk »

My last batch was made from a black walnut tree from down the road. So if you break it down, 24 green walnuts in a liter of likker, that's less than one green walnut per shot. Plus, most of us are bigger then fish :wink:
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Prairiepiss »

Well the old timers wasn't to worried about their fish. The ponds were for the cattle. Not the fish. :lol:

But I know what your saying.
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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by Odin »

PP,

The experimentation bug is back. O yes, aha. Got this recipe from Hungary. Or at least: that is where I got the inspiration from.

I am actually currently being inspired by Apple Pie and am working on two variations on that. More about that in the weekend!

All,

To summarize the safety issue, I think it is more than safe to use European walnut. As a whole, green nut. Black or American walnuts ... if you eat the inside (dried), try making it from that. Or lets do some research on the net on recipees on walnut brandy in the US of A?

Okay, just did a search. Not US of A, but Croatia:

http://sinisabronic.com/index.php/gourm ... om-croatia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Anglosaxon, but is it from the America's?

http://firewouldburnme.blogspot.nl/2009 ... randy.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Now, here it is!!! Walnut Brandy from the black/american juglans/walnut variety!

http://www.schools.lth5.k12.il.us/bths- ... alnut.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow



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Re: Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

Post by ro palinca »

Steep-n-Rocky wrote:Blind Drunk, can you still slice the walnuts or are the shells set?
....
Very good question, because this is the criteria for optimum walnut for nocino/diö palinka/walnut brandy....well it is not a brandy but a liqueur:
- the walnuts must be green and easy to slice with a sharp knife, and must not have inside "woody" parts. The colours in section must be
green and white, without brown or dark grey.
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