When I was a kid in the late 70’s/early 80’s, every autumn and winter brought a variety of nuts into my parents and grandparents houses. Not the packets of today containing already shelled nuts that are often dried or roasted for reasons of preservation, these nuts were in the shells and were plumper, more succulent and creamier texture than todays offerings. Pecans, almonds walnuts, hazelnuts and of course the Brazil nut used to be bought in string brags from the greengrocer for us greedy kids to get our hands on. I used to sit on my Dads knee by our fire with him helping me crack the nuts until I was strong enough to do it myself. Oh happy days.
In actual fact, nuts in their raw form were (seasonally) prevalent until the supermarkets took it upon themselves to a) sell nuts all year round and b) supposedly make thing ‘more convenient’ by pre-shelling the nuts and packing them in packets. The only way I can eat walnuts now is by soaking them in water over night (and rinsing a few times) as not only does it remove the bitter taste that is often prevalent soaking also allows the nutrients to be more easily absorbed.
One of my ‘nut memories’ is shelling walnuts at my grandma’s and eating so many that I felt sick and couldn’t touch them for years afterwards. I always thought this was because I hated walnuts – when I tried them again they were bitter, dry and nothing like the nuts from my childhood. I thought my tastebuds had dramatically changed until today.
The thing is that once shelled, as with all raw food, nuts can go off pretty quickly which is why 99% of the nuts we buy are dried. And I’ve bet everyone has a nasty nut story – the one that kicks your tastebuds into touch; the rancidity lingering in the mouth, no matter how you try to remove it.
“Wet walnut, what’s that?”
I was visiting my parents and Mum offered me a ‘wet walnut’.
“A wet what?” I said, “Walnut” she replied.
“What’s one of those?” I asked, “Are they from the UK?”
A wet walnut is a fresh walnut. It is called wet as they have recently been harvested from the tree and are slightly damp to the touch. When I tried it I was amazed at the difference to shelled ones. They have a beautiful creamy flesh and a very delicate taste. After ruminating on this ‘new’ food, I realised that in fact that these were the walnuts of my youth. Mum went on to explain that the season for fresh walnuts if very short, similar to Kent cobnuts a variety of hazelnut. And yes, they are grown in the UK.
Fresh (wet) Walnuts
King of Nuts
The walnut is a very special nut. It is the king of nuts. It is the only nut that is rich in linolenic acid, the precursor essential fat to omega 3 oils EPA & DHEA, otherwise known as fish oils. The only other vegetable source of linolenic acid is flaxseed (also known as linseed).
Due to their high essential fat content, walnuts are considered to be food for the brain. If you look at the shape of the nut you can see that it resembles a human brain, from the wiggly top to the way that there are two halves that are joined together in the middle.
Walnuts are high in antioxidants, vitamin E and minerals including magnesium, manganese, copper and phosphorus. Walnuts are also a rich source of protein, dietary fibre and promote HDL (aka good) cholesterol production; the high levels of amino acid arginine allow blood vessels to relax, remain smooth and avoid platelet aggregation, a pre-cursor to heart disease.
Where to Buy?
I bought mine from the local greengrocer in Wanstead High st, I’ve yet to find out if I can get them from Borough market or indeed in my local farmers market. I have secondhand info that Waitrose may stock them, but this may be on a regional basis so worthwhile checking.
Walnut trees are often found in UK gardens, and can grow in abundance so its really worthwhile asking around. Annoyingly there was one backing onto my parents property, until the neighbour decided to remove it.
If you find a shop that sells them or have a tree and can’t use the abundance – please share your information, they are a treat I’d like everyone to try at least once. I definitely think that I could easily become addicted to them.
If you can’t find wet walnuts but would like to try soaking dried ones, my favourite place to buy nuts is Unpackaged in Amwell St, N1 (London). They have some very tasty organic walnuts in stock right now.
How can I eat them?
Fresh walnuts: I would suggest that you savour wet walnuts unadulterated, on their own. The taste is so delicate and exquisite that any other flavours would leave you only with the crunch and texture. A travesty.
Dry (shelled) walnuts: soak a handful of walnuts in filtered water over night. Rinse a few times and add to recipes. This make the nutrients more available for the body to absorb and removes the bitter/sour taste that is so often associated with them. Store in the fridge but no more than a day or two max.
When adding to hot dishes, be careful to add as a final touch. Heating the walnut will damage the essential fat content which may leave it tasting rancid.
Waldorf Salad: you can substitue the mayo for some yoghurt or even a little bit of olive oil. If like me you aren’t a fan of creamy mayo or sauces, leave it out all together but add a couple more tbsp of lemon juice.
Farro Salad with Butternut Squash & Walnuts: very intriguing middle-eastern style salad
Eating Well in a World of Temptation 