Walnut Brandy / Dio Palinka

[blind drunk]

In addition to the other stuff, I'm thinking of adding some cherries to the green walnut maceration. For some reason, it sounds appealing (and I have some nice ones in the fridge).

[Odin]

Ro,

Thanks for joining. You made any? I guess it is your teritory, right?

BD,

If there is one thing I learned from this recipe, it is that you can really, really vary it. Lemon zest, raisins, herbs, you name it ...

Okay you guys,

It is time we put ... our mouth where our money is? ... theory to practise? I plan to make a full report on my first trials. Pictures, stories, the works. Starting coming saturday when I visit my friend who lives in a monastery where they have walnut trees. And monks, lots of monks.

"A bottle of walnut brandy for the house" would we greatly appreciated, I was told by the "Provincial Comander of the Order of Pasionists for The Netherlands and Lower Germany". And so it will be ... Amen.

Odin.

[ro palinca]

@Odin
nice to see you again, and yes, last year I made aprox. 10 liter and it was consumed (with friends) in the spring of this year.I must tell that after
filtering, it is important to age for at least 6 months.

[blind drunk]

Hope they're green enough -

photo.JPG

[ro palinca]

@BD
your walnuts seems to be OK, judging from your photo.

[Odin]

Ro, BD,

There seems to be some controversy on when to pluck them walnuts. Most over here say "before 24th of June". I hope it is a bit more practical, like: as long as they are green and not brown it is okay. But maybe the very young ones have more oils in them? Than there is climate. In Holland we will never have as big a walnut as in Hungary or Romania. And I guess over there they ripen faster too.

Great picture BD! Recent one, or from an old batch?

Odin.

Edit: heared it needed some aging. At first there seems to be a very .. medidinal taste & smell, right? Thought 3 months would do the job, though. Sorry to hear it takes longer. Thought about Xmass and this drink seems perfect for that.

[blind drunk]

I think the weather has something to do with it as well. It's been pretty "cold" here until just recently and the tree I picked from is by the ocean, that is cool and breezy. I think the June 24th date applies to the warmer countries, like Italy etc, like you said.

But maybe the very young ones have more oils in them?

I'm guessing that if they are still green, then they are still young, regardless of the date? Just like grapes, sometimes they ready early and sometimes later. Just depends on the year/season, micro climates, etc.

I hope we're right

BTW Odin, new photo, just snapped it.

[HolyBear]

Sir Odin et al,.. you know that I'm a Biologist. Actually, more of a Botanist or Ecologist based on my work...

Although I'll readily admit that organic chemistry wasn't my strongest class back in school, I do remember a little somethin about it. I've also had lots of Botany classes while continuing to study and research. I work with plants daily. That's what I do and you know me...

Maybe more importantly though, I have what we call over here, common sense... and I know that you do too...

Now, different species of course can produce different chemicals. Different parts of a plant produce different chemicals. Different plants of the same species produce varied amounts of chemicals based on various factors... (that's an important part)...
Now, based on that paper that I posted, (and common sense), why would we risk similar effects of cyanide poisoning, eg respiratory failure, heart failure, etc....??? http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=w ... RXqzhURJDw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Aren't we supposed to be advocating safety here? Anyone thinking about trying this really should read this research paper...

[Dnderhead]

"Dunder, what say you???"
I have not payed much attention to this thread..but have seen other questionable ingreadeants used on this sight.
If I read it right English walnut seems to be nontoxic or at least less so.Id be very careful when flavoring with unknown ingreadeants.
I know of one used acorns to"age" with ,this was not to bad until a whole group almost died. it was latter found out he had used red oak acorns instead of white,there was a lot of explaining to do.

[blind drunk]

I appreciate the concern for safety, I really do. Because there's so much historical information of people using it to make liqueur, I feel it's fine for me to use it in a similar way. My mother used to make it the same way after she immigrated to Canada. Some folks even recommend it as a tonic -

http://www.herbsoflight.com/green-black ... 0-prd1.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I trust history as much as I do science (sometimes). But I'm no expert, that's for sure. Just my 2 loonies worth

[Dnderhead]

they used all kinds of stuff,,,cough syrup with kerosene,turpentine hot pepper,,,bacon grease..
vicks,,save the baby,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[blind drunk]

You got me googling

You might like this, Dnder -

http://www.linkydinky.com/Cures.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Dnderhead]

another one to watch is fruit pits,,but many of these was not intended as a "drink" but was used as a tonic.

[Odin]

Just back from the monastery. Tried to get some walnuts, but the season is really bad. On 6 trees I found like 12 or 13 walnuts. Just enough for my 1.5 liter recipe. Back home, I chopped them up. Green on the outside, white on the inside. With a small, small brown line, where the hardened shell will be when ripe.

I guess for this purpose they are a bit overdue, but I will go ahead anyway.

Pics of everything in a macon jar ripening will follow later. For now, a picture of the Haastrecht Passionist Monastery I went to:

[Odin]

BD,

Even though my Walnut Brandy has much less walnuts in them, it turns black in a few hours. The same with you, after some time? The colour is the same as what I drank in Hungary ...

Here's a picture:

[ro palinca]

@Odin
It is much to late for walnuts, I said they must be easy to slice with a sharp knife and don't present any woody parts in section. Sorry, but don't be sad
the world will not end in 2012... wait for 2013.About the taste; it is very strange and almost pharmaceutical.

[blind drunk]

Yup, dark green becoming black. It's quite a beautiful colour.

[ro palinca]

the final color will be dark brown/black regardless of the age of walnuts.

EDIT
I know that taste is better with the young ones from personal experience. What I heard is that the tannin & juglone make the difference.

[Odin]

Ro,

Yeah, being too late was a fear I had. I decided to go ahead and try it anyhow. Like 1.5 liter. Not a big spoil. And if it doesn't work out fine, I will restart next year. Only that time in the beginning of July and not halfway august.

BD,

It is black, but with a green hint indeed.

Odin.

[ro palinca]

Ro,

Yeah, being too late was a fear I had. I decided to go ahead and try it anyhow. Like 1.5 liter. Not a big spoil. And if it doesn't work out fine, I will restart next year. Only that time in the beginning of July and not halfway august.

BD,

It is black, but with a green hint indeed.

Odin.

Just don't drink too much...or else...

[Odin]

Or else ...

... I will forget your sound advice?

... I will wake up with wooden walnuts myself? Or green ones?

... I will not wake up at all?

...

[blind drunk]

What I heard is that the tannin & juglone make the difference.

My original Nocino recipe says to keep it in the hot sun for 40 days; that'll get every speck of tannin and juglone out of those husks.

[Odin]

I interpret it as follows. Older nuts are less fresh and have less oils. Also they have more wooden structuring making for a more tanine rich drink. Now those tanines will make the drink feel like your teeth want to relocate somewhere - say - outside your mouth.

Using "older", but still green walnuts was a risk. But I took it willingly.

Ro, is tanines the only problem, tastewise? If so more ageing might help. That is the usual treatment for tanines in wine and whiskey.

Odin.

[ro palinca]

@Odin
It is rich in tannin, no doubt about it, but this is not the only aspect, there are several other substances with a uncommon taste. I have little
personal experience (just two batches) so I can't give you a sound explication, just some intuitive advice:
even if you cure it >30 days in sun (I did it) the interior if there is a woody shell will not be cured and you will have a higher concentration
of unwanted substances.

[Odin]

Thanx for the explanation, Ro! I will keep it in mind. A question: if the nuts are a bit overdue and this can impart flavours we don't want, wouldn't it be better to limit the extraction time? To prevent tanine build up, a shorter exposure of the likker to the nuts would be beneficial, right?

Odin.

[ro palinca]

It sound reasonable, but to little means not enough flavor and to much is to much, so, it is up to experimental data. I'm curious about your
results, please keep us informed.

[Odin]

I think taste wise it is going to be fine. It has already plenty of taste. Just after a day. I just decided to take a short cut on the extraction time. I put everything in my ultrasonic cleaner and it is working its magic. Extracting at an increadible rate. I think I will start filtering tomorrow and then do some more ultrasonic aging. This stuff will be fine. And it will be drinkable (to say the least) before Xmass!

Odin.

[Odin]

Here is pic of my filtered Walnut Brandy. Black with a green hint. On the right a bottle of my whiskey. Quite a difference in colour ...

Odin.

[blind drunk]

Hey Odin, have you looked into Grüne Nüsse? Just for research purposes. I guess it's what I made the first time, as I didn't sweeten if one bit. This one I will sweeten.

[Odin]

Grüne Nüsse = green nuts. I just did a search and found lots of recipes in German on green walnuts. From cakes to drinks.

Odin.